ERRETT CALLAHAN HAVING CHOW (RAY HARWOOD)

Intro:

Diuguid Funeral Service & Crematory Wiggington Chapel Obituary

Errett was born on December 17, 1937 and passed away on Wednesday, May 29, 2019. Errett was a resident of Virginia at the time of passing. He attended Christ Church School, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia Commonwealth University and Catholic University (where he earned a master's and PhD in anthropology). In lieu of flowers, please donate to, www.michaelfox.org (for Parkinson's research) or The Mountain Man Boy Scout Program, make checks payable to B.R.M.C and send to Boy Scouts of America, 2131 Valley View Blvd, Roanoke, VA 24012 Diuguid Funeral Service ^ Crematory, Wiggington Road Chapel, 385-8900, is serving the family.

Errett Callahan ( Barney DeSimone )

Obituary of Errett Hargrove Callahan Jr.

Errett Hargrove Callahan, Jr., born December 17, 1937 and died May 29, 2019 in Lynchburg, VA. He attended Christ Church School, Hampden-Sydney College, Virginia Commonwealth University and Catholic University (where he earned a master’s and PhD in anthropology). He enjoyed being a teacher, Boy Scout and Boy Scout leader and artist. He started the Mountain Man Program at Camp Monacan Scout Camp in the 1960’s. He was also founder of the Society of Primitive Technology. As an experimental archeologist (reconstructing stone knives, ceramics, bows and arrows, and primitive houses of ancient people ) he was recognized as one of the international leaders in the field. He authored several books about his projects, most recently about Danish Daggers.

He was preceded by his father, Errett Callahan, Sr. and Mary Ingraham Callahan, of Lynchburg, VA. He leaves behind his daughter, Melody Callahan, Lynchburg, VA and his son, Tim Callahan of Portland, OR, three grandchildren (Chris, Megan and Ryan), brothers David of Huddleston, VA and Bill of Amherst, VA.

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, June 15, 2019 at Cliffside, 2 Fredonia Ave., Lynchburg, VA, 24503 from 11-4 PM. Please bring a lawn chair and covered dish.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to, www.michaelfox.org (for Parkinson’s research) or The Mountain Man Boy Scout Program, make checks payable to B.R.M.C and send to Boy Scouts of America, 2131 Valley View Blvd, Roanoke, VA 24012

Diuguid Funeral Service ^ Crematory, Wiggington Road Chapel, 385-8900, is serving the family. On-line condolences may be sent to www.diuguidfuneralservice.com.

I met Errett through Clay Singer, he had come to the Little Lake Knap in California in the late 1970s.

I miss Dr. Callahan, he was a friend and mentor since I was a teenager. He was a master knapper and southern gentelman. He was a hard task master and some of lesser moral fiber could not understand this. In 1990 I was in the Irland Army Hospital, I was at a low point in lifes journey. He found me through the Red Cross and called me on the phone. I had traded for some Saudi flint and made an arrowhead for him and send it off a few months before. "Hello!, is this the young tank gunner that send me the most precious and most natural arrowhead I have ever held in my hand?" That was the call, we started talking and did so for quite some time and then the officer of the day led me away.

Frank Calba, Barney DeSimone and myself went to see him at the motel in Van Nuys. Ca. when he came to do the notching class at the Gene Autry Museum. He and his family were in the swimming pool, he was very kind and down to earth.

The last call I had with Errett was several months prior to his passing. He said "I am going to heaven soon, I will be knapiing with Crabtree, Sollberger, Bordes and all my friends" He had more faith in an afterlife of anyone I have ever spoke with in my life. I hope I too will be invited to his celestial knap in when I pass on. Ray Harwood

In 1979 a family member gifted me a newly released book by astrophysicist, Carl Sagan. Being largely reading impaired, it took me months to read through it, but when you read something slowly and intently, you remember what you read. Sagan is now part of the cosmos he loved so well, but can be seen in his TV series of the same name on Netflix and YouTube. In the afore mentioned book Sagan, pays homage to French anthropologist Pau1 Broca (1824-1880) whom discovered among other things, different functions come from, or are assigned to, different parts of the brain, including flintknapping. Sagan contemplated “If we don’t destroy ourselves, most of us will be around for the answers” , as the 1970s were alive with new science and discoveries. Oddly, we managed not to destroy ourselves but perhaps we backed stepped a great deal on science. Archaeology went from a noble scientific endeavor to a business (Cultural Resource Management) and what was once a useful tool of experimental archaeology(knapping) became an artistic endeavor aimed mostly at extracting funds from collectors whom were left without a source for obtaining collectors’ items by way of an array of new laws protecting artifacts. Academic knappers from the 1970s were also caught up in the exhilarating time when we were experiencing what Sagan called “the time which we pass from ignorance to knowledge”. It was this fertile ground that produced an amazing array of flintknappers. The 1970s knappers were truly ground breakers, as well as rock breakers! The concepts that they brain stormed, discovered or pried from the past are all taken for granite today. Weather it was searching for early Americans or debating Calico there were hot debates all over the board. Knap-ins were not sales booths set up like some stone age swap meet but places where craftsmen debated deep thought provoking issues that was locked up inside the stone. One of these knapping pioneers of the 1970s was Dr. Errett Callahan. With my pea size brain I will make an attempt to reveal, in some cases unravel, some of the massive contributions that emanated from this perplexing individual.

Becoming Callahan:

I could literally write volumes on the complexity of Errett Callahan the man, his art and his research, but alas I will give the substance and give you a hunger to do more research on your own, he has penned dozens of books and over 150 research articles He considered himself a reconstructive archaeologist with over 50 years’ experience in all aspects of flintknapping. He was a true pioneer in the art and science of knapping. He was a thoughtful and thought provoking individual, and highly educated. In 1973 he received an advanced degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and his first PhD in 1978. At home in an Igloo teaching Eskimos their own lost arts or in the world’s Universities he was always an esteemed and consummate professional. In 1990 Errett was on an Arctic odyssey teaching 200 Inuit Eskimos on Belcher Islands in Hudsen Bay, what they had forgotten. He was given an honorary PhD for his many Danish studies It was as he said “life is the journey not the destination”

and he always paid 100% attention to every detail. He was a hard task master to his students, but he held himself to an even higher discipline. He said what was on his mind, and it was a lot, some got peeved at him, some even threatened him. It was funny, sitting by the camp fire and Errett was discussing another knapper that had threatened to “kick his ass” , given the image I could see flickering in the flames I had to laugh, he was at least six feet, had giant biceps, the eyes of a wolf and I’d seen him lift lithic boulders of massive size, he could have “kicked all their fat asses” and all at the same time! He would regularly bench press 250 pounds and was capable of multitudes of pull-ups and what not. He was a master bowyer and archer, and even won first place in atlatl in the 1975 Pennsylvania Society of Archaeology he won first place in a massive atlatl contest. Yea he was genius, but he was a bad ass.

Callahan was always interested in wilderness skills. Edar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan character always fascinated him. The book unleashed Errett’s imagination. He made his first bow when he was 5 years old. He has now made over 100 bows from long bows to the most advanced laminated recurve. As a teen he round the woods with his homemade bows and arrows with stone points. In the 1960s Errett ended up in Africa for A year where he visited many famous archaeology sites and living in the wilderness. It was back in 1956, just out of high school, he spend the summer in Yellowstone working at the general store. Here he was exposed to various point types and had access to obsidian. He figured out the basics of pressure flaking on his own and didn’t meet another knapper for another 10 years.

"Errett Callahan was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on December 17, 1937. Callahan’s interest in the outdoors and Native American lifeways began quite early on. As a boy Callahan was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and it was as a Boy Scout that he was first exposed to the skills and techniques that the Native Americans used to survive in the outdoors.^[1] His father, who was also his Scoutmaster, played a large role in this, not only imparting his technical knowledge, but also instilling a sense of self-reliance and independence that would shape Errett’s outlook his entire life.

Callahan attended Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia from 1956 to 1960. While at Hampden-Sydney Callahan majored in French to better prepare himself for the missionary work in West Africa he hoped to do after graduation.^[1] Callahan became a free-lance artist and went instead to East Africa in 1965 where English was readily spoken. He returned to the United States a year later in 1966, where he painted landscapes for three years and then taught art at a prep school for another two."

In college, a young Errett was assigned to escort French knapper Francois Bordes on a demo for the Leaky Foundation. Then in 1977 Bordes spent 4 days knapping in Richmond, he was a master of percussion and Errett was hanging on every word and strike.

Background (Excerpt from Callahan's catalog, "Piltdown Productions Catalog #5" p.4 - 6, 1999)
"I started knapping in 1956 - not counting a few slate pieces I knapped out in 1950 - and have been at it without let-up ever since. During these past 42 years, I have produced, as of August 1998, 9049 stone tools, all duly signed and recorded. I was raised on quartzite and the tougher cherts. I didn't work obsidian much until the early 1980s.

I made my first hafted stone knife in 1966. Knife production was occasional thereafter until 1984, when I started obsidian knife production in a big way. Since 1984, I have produced 860 stone knives, all duly signed and documented. (I make and sell about 50-60 knives a year. That's about one knife a week. But I spend 1-2 months on my big showpieces.) Today, knife production comprises the vast majority of my stone work; I'm considered a halftime maker. (See Below.)

I knap 2 - 2 1/2 hours a day and have done so for decades. (Between 1990 and 1998, I knapped a measured average of 2.2 hours a day. Range 1.8 - 2.7 hours.). I love flintknapping.

The Importance of Reputation
In his article, "So You Want to Be a Knifemaker?" (BLADE, June '89:30...77), Bernard Levine notes that of the three factors which most influence sales - design, craftsmanship, and reputation - the most important is reputation. Yes, the design must be sound and the craftsmanship excellent, but, among knife collectors, it's your name which is taken as the best indication of a sound investment. That is, one's reputation, ethical stand, and professionalism must be above reproach. So what I'd like to do here is to introduce myself, not in order to toot my own horn, but so you can get to know me a little better, to show you that I mean business, and to assure you of that sound investment.

Mentors
I'd like to say I am self-taught, for I worked completely alone and without reading any instructional material for the first 10 years. My only guides were the silent ancient original artifacts. But since then, though I did not attend their classes (few taught), I've sat down and had intensive, hands-on instruction from the Master-level knappers - Don Crabtree, Gene Titmus, Francois Bordes, J. B. Sollberger, and Jacques Pelegrin. And that's instruction. And I've read practically everything in and out of print on the subject. And that's instruction. So I owe a debt of gratitude and thanks to these, my mentors. (I've also seen hundreds of other knappers work and learned countless bits of information from them. That's learning too.)

TRADITIONAL MENTORING
Go to a teacher. Study under him. Take his classes, if possible. If not, then read his works, visit with him, write to him, talk to him. Listen. Learn. Consult with him on future projects and publications. Stay in touch. Then thereafter give him credit for helping you on your way.

MENTORING IN THE 90S
Being aware of a teacher far ahead of you, do your utmost to take a shortcut to get ahead of him. Study his work carefully; but either have no direct contact with him or take his courses and put on a front of appreciation. Try to get into print in his specialty before him. Then when you make your tiny mark, make little or no mention of his influence, give him little credit. EC

Reinventing the Wheel
Those first 10 years were a real struggle. I had to work it all out by trial and error. I didn't even know what the questions were, much less the answers. Sometimes I'd find myself banging away for years, making one mistake after the other, trying to isolate what causes what. As slowly as evolution itself, I eventually sorted most of it out.

All in all, I'd say I spent 20 years working my way through the Paleolithic, Paleo-Indian, Archaic, and Woodland levels and another five years working through the Mesolithic - all the while voluntarily restricting myself to replicas of ancient forms. This was my basic training and excellent discipline it was.

During the last 20 years I have been working my way through the complex Neolithic levels, finally breaking through into the unexplored Post-Neolithic territory shown herein. These latter years have also been a real struggle, for once again I've had little to guide me. What do you use for guidance when you're trying to break a new trail into unexplored territory? - Only intuition.

But I don't forget to check my backtrail to see how others are coming along. That's why I offer my workshops. (My students are now learning in one week what it took me the first 10 years to learn on my own.) And that's why I founded the Society of Primitive Technology in l989 and served as President of the Board from 1989-1996.(See Tribute by Steve Watts in SPT Bulletin #14, in 1997.)

Education and its Relevance to Knife-making
That MA, MFA and PhD after my name do indeed relate to knife-making, as Steve Shackleford alludes.

"Perhaps nowhere in the business of sharp edges does one's background prepare him so well for his livelihood as does that of obsidian knife-maker Errett Callahan." - Steve Shackleford, Editor, BLADE Magazine SE/OC '87:20.

This means that I have a master's and a doctorate in anthropology (with emphasis in lithic technology and experimental archeology respectively) and a masters in Fine Arts. (My Master's Thesis, THE BASICS, is still a best seller after 20 years and four printings. It's the basics of instruction in my workshops.) In 1992, I was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Uppsala University in Sweden for my work on the Mesolithic and Neolithic there. Thus I am now on the faculty of Uppsala University, Archeology Department.

These degrees may not be responsible for my craftsmanship but they have indeed forced me to think hard about design, about historical context, and about field testing my products. Throughout the 1970s, I pioneered the field of "Living Archaeology, conducting subsistence projects in which participants lived off the land for from two to nine weeks under primitive conditions. We used stone knives and other primitive tools exclusively, while testing certain archaeological hypotheses. When your life and very material comfort depend exclusively upon your stone tools, you learn a few things about function, design, and craftsmanship. So when I say that my knives are functional, I think I know what I am talking about. The knives shown in my catalog are the culmination of all that experience".

Armed with his new found percussion mythologies Errett’s endocrinal capacities began to work overtime. His major contributions are no less than the history of modern knapping encapsulated in one man’s story, presented in no particular order of development or importance:

Biface reduct

1 Biface reduction stages stages.

2. Lithic grade scale.

3. Nature of flake scars and mapping /drawing .

4. Replication vs simulation/ signing your work.

5. Invented “ living archaeology”

6. Quantitative analysis width/thickness ratio.

7. Center line plane, platform location –predictable flakes and edge angle analysis.

8. Categorizing the learning curve.

9. Launched “Flintknapper’s Exchange”

10. Pioneered patterned flaked knives, lapidary knapping.

11. Pioneered Obsidian surgical blade industry.

12. Ishi notch methods.

13. Breaking the dagger code.

ERRETT CALLAHAN PRESSURE FLAKING ON FLINT DAGGER (RAY HARWOOD)

To understand Callahan ‘s the contributions to experimental archaeology, traditional archery, primitive skills and flintknapping, you have to understand the communities when these things were evolving. I came into these worlds at the end of the 1970s in California. The 70s were fueled by academic research into these areas and a post hippie appreciation for Native American arts and crafts and life styles. It has always been my perspective that Callahan came out of an extremely fertile lithic soil. Errett had tapped into flint knapping as part of primitive skills rage. He was the team leader in the now historic project “the Pamunkey Village Experiment”. This involved building a Pamunky Indian house and mini village to the ancient Pamunky Indians of Virginia. The project involved building the structures with stone tools and natural local materials. Errett and his student helpers did and excellent job . It was so successful that he was asked to go to Denmark and repeat a similar “living archaeology “project. In 1992 he was awarded an honorary PhD in archaeology from the University of Uppsala, Sweden.

ERRETT CALLAHAN WITH DANISH DAGGER (RAY HARWOOD)

Errett Callahan was cofounder of the Old Rag Reports, original Flintknapper’s Exchange as well as president of the Society of Primitive Technology for many years . The Society is an international organization devoted to the preservation of a wide range of primitive technologies. The SPT preserves and promotes this knowledge principally by means of a remarkable magazine, the Bulletin of Primitive Technology.

Photo2

Crabtree Connection, Percussion Master:

One of those whom Callahan sought council was Don Crabtree (June 8, 1912 – November 16, 1980) was the one that took flintknapping back from the shadows of time and brought it back. Don was known as “Dean of America Flintknappers”.Callahan saw the potential and importance of Crabtree’s work and he brought him into the fold early . Don Crabtree started his quest into flintknapping when he was a boy in the Snake river Valley area of southern Idaho. Eventually through trial and error he rediscovered the preponderance of lithic technology known today, also the associated vocabulary. Thermal alteration of lithic materials, Blade core technologies, pattern flaking, Clovis and Folsom fluting methodologies. Crabtree was on the forefront of the 1970s academic flintknapping revolution. He published a wealth of information in both text and film 4. Callahan and Crabtree stayed in close friendship and research associates until Crabtree’s death. Errett and Don both have the distinction of having had major surgery with obsidian tools they themselves crafted ..Callahan was influenced quite a bit Bordes in France, whom was friends with Crabtree, at the same time Errett had been reading Don’s work. Errett was fascinated by Crabtree, they finally met in Calgary in 1974 and Crabtree gradually became a heavy influence on Errett’s knapping.

Titmus Lace

Another Idaho master at the time was Crabtree’s friend, Gene Titmus. Titmus influenced Errett a great deal in his notching and serrating techniques.

Photo 3

The Texas Clovis Connection, Sollberger:

In Texas, J.B Sollberger was a huge influence, out of Texas, and as Callahan himself had become very influential through the original “Flintknapper’s Exchange”. Sollberger and Callahan’s friendship is legendary in the cloudy distancing of time.

J.B. SOLLBERGER, JEFFERY FLENNIKEN, GENE TITMUS, ERRETT CALLAHAN (CLAY SINGER)

J.B. Sollberger ,1914-1995 . The body (the theme of which should be the answer to one simple question J.B. Sollberger, of Dallas, Texas. Sollberger was a true flintknapping pioneer and a legend in his time.Not only was Sollberger a master knapper, he was truly a gentleman and humble as well. He was very analytical with his theoretical papers and articles being the best in the field. His literary works were of the highest quality where he published in many journals including American Antiquity, Lithic Technology, Flintknappers’ Exchange, Flintknapping Digest, and The Emic Perspective. J.B. Sollberger started flintknapping when he was middle aged, sometime around 1970. He always had a curiosity about knapping but didn’t get the "lithic erg" until he observed a scrapper making demonstration at the 1970 Dallas Archaeological Society meetings. Below is a letter from J.B Sollberger to Errett dated 17^th Sept. 1975.The letter is in response to Sollberger’s reading of The Basics Of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition.

“Errett, your paper is undoubtedly no.1 No other work even approaches it in grading stone for lithic fracture. No other paper gives hammer stone-billet data that is even comparable. You quote others on biface stages… but I can’t believe others lay out the knapping strategy as you do. You plainly thrash Painter – but like a gentleman. You put in one volume more on the art of flintknapping than can be found in a dozen other volumes. You generously honor others working in the field- especially me. Even your “MYTH KILLING” is necessary and worthwhile. For days I’ve searched for errors – or something left out – I am at a loss to find such…Frankly, and not because of our friendship, I can’t find anything to criticize.”

Though Callahan was close friends with both Sollberger and Crabtree but the two masters oddly never met .Though they were contemporary, they only knew of each other through their mutual involvement with Callahan and the original Flintknapper’s Exchange. Idaho/ Californian Crabtree and Texan J’B’ Sollberger spurred on two separate early schools of thought. Crabtree the obsidian school and Sollberger the Texas flint school. Both men rediscovering Their perspective paleo technologies. While Callahan was influenced by other early knappers he had many others as well. He was a master, but also a sponge like student soaking up even more from the old masters and new revolutionary knappers.. Crabtree had many important students, including academic knapper Jeff Fleniken, whom carried on Crabtree’s famous lithics school.

ERRETT CALLAHAN WITH DANISH DAGGER CLASS (RAY HARWOOD)

"Throughout the 1980s the fields of experimental archaeology and lithic replication studies endured some harsh criticisms in the United States from various members of the academic community (Callahan 1999). These criticisms stemmed mainly from unscrupulous flint knappers attempting to pass their modern reproductions off as authentic prehistoric stone tools. As a result of this many practitioners went into a kind of academic hiding, choosing not to publish the results of their ongoing research. While “in hiding” the field continued to grow with every new technique that was rediscovered and, as Callahan puts it in his article What is Experimental Archaeology? (1999), “the field was bursting at the seams for expression”. In an effort to bring together members of the community, Callahan invited ten of the leading primitive technology teachers and practitioners to theSchiele Museum of Natural History’s Center for Southeastern Native American Studies in Gastonia, North Carolina in November 1989 (Wescott 1999). It was at this gathering thatThe Society of Primitive Technology was founded to promote the practice and teaching of aboriginal skills, foster communication between teachers and practitioners, and to bring about a set of standards for the authenticity, quality and ethics of the research that was being carried out. The society, of which Callahan was president from its inception until he retired his post in 1996 (Watts 1997), publishes the biannual journal Bulletin of Primitive Technology which includes articles on a variety of experimental archaeological topics including but not limited to stone and bone tools, aboriginal structures, nutrition, clothing, and fire production."

Errett was one of a small handful of knappers in America that were struggling with the Dannish dagger mystery technologies in the early 1970s-1980s . He did decode them and have written a great deal on the subject. Many of his students have picked up the torch and now it is not a rarity to see knappers making Danish Daggers. Bo Madsen is Denmark's premier flintknapper, a grand- master of the Danish art. Madison is an expert on Danish lithics and earned his Ph.D. at Arhus in Jutland, Denmark. Madsen's dagger research influenced Callahan greatly and this spread to America and in this era many knappers were attempting dagger production: Waldorf, Patten,Stafford, Flenniken and Callahan in particular. Errett spend a good deal of time in the 1970s in Scandinavia and returned again in August of 1984. Madsen had moved over to the University of Arhus and was teaching a talented portage, Peter Vemming Hansenat at the Universityof Copenhagen, the two had co-wrote and published a paper on the replication of square- sectioned axes. While in Scandinavia Callahan gave several flintknapping workshops sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of the University of Uppsala, Sweden, he was assisted by Bo Madsen and Dr. Debbie Olausson. According to Callahan, the Copenhagen area has several talented non-academic knappers as well Thorbjorn Peterson, Asel Jorgensen, and Soren Moses.

ERRETT CALLAHAN WITH DANISH DAGGER (RAY HARWOOD)

Some other overseas influences on Errett were Jacques Pelegrin and Bo Madsen. Pelegrin had been Bordes number one student in France,working under him for years. Pelgrin first trained with Bordes over six summers, for three weeks each summer. Pelegrin worked with a hardwood billit, which he learned to use from Bordes's friend inParis, Jacques Tixier, whom was one of the Masters of flintworking of the time. Pelegrin became very good with boxwood. Jacques Pelegrin's father built a cottage in the French woods, here Jacques reflected on archaeological concepts and flintknapping. At this time, in the 1970s, Pilegrin was writing a bit back and forth to Master Don Crabtree in the USA and Jacques had begun to read and interpret Crabtree's publications. Pelegrin did public flintknapping demonstations in the Archeodrome, which is on the main road between Beaune and Lyon, France. He is concidered one of the best flintknappers in the world. Pelegrin and Bordes learned English together and spend years flintknapping together and learning, master and student became knapping partners. Jacques Pelgrin went through almost all the Paleolthic French technologies while learning his craft- Levallois, blade making, different kinds of Paleolithic tools, different kinds of flint cores, and leave points, including Solutrean pressure material. It is an interesting fact that Pelegrin learned to flintknap standing up and only changes after his first exposure to other knappers and text.

"In 1972 Errett received a call from Hans-Ole Hansen, founder of the former Lejre Experimental Centre, nowadays Land of legends (Sagnlandet Lejre), in Lejre, Denmark.^[1]Hansen had founded the center in the 1960s as an experiment in Denmark’s past. Until Hansen contacted Callahan, the center had dealt mainly with Denmark’s Iron Age. With Callahan’s help, the center pushed back the time periods represented to the Neolithic and Mesolithic. Callahan first traveled to Denmark in 1979, where he conducted a conference that dealt specifically with the archaeology of the area. At the conference he set up a small knapping area where he engaged Danish archaeologists and raised awareness in experimental lithic technology. He returned to Denmark in 1981, this time spending seven months at the Lejre Experimental Centre conducting research into the techniques used to produce the stone tool kit of the Neolithic Danes, including the Neolithic Danish dagger, a highly advanced stone knife originally made to copy the forms of theBronze daggers being produced in northern and central Europe at that time. Through his research Callahan was the first experimental archaeologist able to reproduce the daggers using traditional techniques. He is now in the process of compiling his work done in Denmark. The research will be published in his forthcoming book.

Along with his work in Denmark, Callahan has also been part of ongoing research into the Swedish Mesolithic and Neolithic as well. His replication study of Middle Sweden’s Mesolithic and Neolithic quartz and quartzite technology and usage, published in An Evaluation of the Lithic Technology in Middle Sweden During the Mesolithic and Neolithic(1987), shed new light on several long standing questions, including population migration, microblade technology, and knapping efficiency vs. waste, faced by Swedish archaeologists who studied the lithic technologies of the area. As a result of his research in Sweden he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and faculty position in the archaeology department at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden (Watts 1997)."

Unlocking FOG Knives

Photo 5

In later years Errett's biggest influence was Richard Warren. Richard was completely underground and out of contact for most of his knapping life, he became a lapidary knapper that had an exclusive clientele. Richard Warren's work was incredibly precise, much more than anyone at the time thought was possible. Errett had to reconstruct the Warren technique entirely from scratch. Richard Warren showed Errett one important thing- perfection is possible- andthat's all he needed to know. Richard Warren died a few years ago,Warren's curiosity was to know what could be done with flint if someone picks up where the best stone age knappers abandoned thecraft for metal technology or extinction. In short Richard's quest was for knapping for the sake of art-perfection, by any meanspossible. Richard used the term "Teleolithics" to describe what wenow call lapidary knapping, flake over grinding (lap-knapping). After Hannus' colon operation, in 1983, for which Errett made the obsidian blades used in the surgery and observed the entire operation, two of Callahan's students decided to start a company with him to market hese blades to the medical community. As Crabtree before him Callahan was the only living flintknapper with the confidence to have major surgery done with stone tools he crafted himself. According to the news release on December 9^th, 1998, Errett Callahan had major surgery done to repair his right rotator cuff tendon. The two hour landmark operation was done by Dr. Jay Hopkins. The one who was supposed to do the marketing the obsidian blades for the new company dropped out and the business became " Aztecnics". Errett markets his obsidian art through "Piltdown Productions" in Virginia. Callahan is best known for his published work The Basics Of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition A Manual For Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts. This was published in Archaeology Of North America, . He has also published many other books and articles. Including: "Flintknappers' exchange" (the original journal), "The Emic Perspective" and "Flintknapping Digest". The Basics Of Biface knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition was the single most influential lithic book ever written. The Callahan biface book is Vol. 7, No. 1 of the journal Archaeology Of Eastern North America. The book introduced mahe one who was supposed to do the marketing dropped out and little became of " Aztecnics”. Errett markets his obsidian art through "Piltdown Productions" in Virginia. Callahan is best known for his published work The Basics Of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition A Manual For Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts. This was published in Archaeology Of North America, . He has also published many other books and articles. Including: "Flintknappers' exchange" (the original journal), "The Emic Perspective" and "Flintknapping Digest". The Basics Of Biface knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition was the single most influential lithic book ever written. The Callahan biface book is Vol. 7, No. 1 of the journal Archaeology Of Eastern North America. The book introduced many new techniques for the study of stone tools, for standard and experimental archaeology. The concepts, "the lithic grade scale, and biface staging, are widely used in flintknapping circles to the point the most new knappers didn't even know these concepts were fairly new and largely discovered by Callahan. The book introduced many new techniques for the study of stone tools, and standard for knapping and experimental archaeology. The concepts are widely used in flintknapping circles to the point , most new knappers didn’t even know these concepts were fairly new and Callahan’s research models.
Awards For Obsidian Knives By
Errett Callahan
_____________________________________

1989 - Judges' Choice Award BEST PRESENTATION Chesapeake Knife Show, Baltimore, MD 1994 - WOODEN SWORD AWARD by Ken Warner, Editor, KNIVES 94 (for contribution to field)
1996 - BEST FANTASY KNIFE Southeastern Custom Knife Show Winston-Salem, NC 1997 - BEST HIGH ART KNIFE Shenandoah Valley Knife Show Harrisonburg, VA
1998 - BEST HIGH ART KNIFE Shenandoah Valley Knife Show Harrisonburg, VA
1998 - BEST FANTASY KNIFE Southeastern Custom Knife Show Winston-Salem, NC 1999 - BEST HIGH ART KNIFE Shenandoah Valley Knife Show Harrisonburg, VA
1999 - BEST FANTASY KNIFE Southeastern Custom Knife Show Winston-Salem, NC
2000 - BEST HIGH ART KNIFE Shenandoah Valley Knife Show Harrisonburg, VA

2000 - BEST FANTASY KNIFE Southeastern Custom Knife Show
Winston-Salem , NC

Parasarolophus
(Not Pictured)

2001 - BEST MINIATURE AWARD North Carolina Custom Knife Show
Winston-Salem , NC

(Not Pictured)

Piltdown productions

"Upon his return from Northern Europe in 1981 Callahan founded Piltdown Productions as a means to sell his many publications, supplies, and instructional materials, as well as the stone tools and knives he produced. He first used the name, which he took from the infamous Piltdown Man hoax of the early 1900s in which British collector Charles Dawsonattempted to pass off the jawbone of an orangutan and fragments of a human skull as an undiscovered human ancestor found in a gravel quarry in Piltdown, England. Callahan first used the Piltdown name in 1974 in a comic strip he drew for Experimental Archaeology Papers, or A.P.E..^[1] In the comic strip he presented a humorous look at the life of acaveman. Callahan wrote two more installments of the comic for the A.P.E. and then for the Newsletter of Experimental Archaeology. During this period, he was also producing documentary and instructional films dealing with various aspects of primitive technology as well as beginner flint knapping kits and tool reproductions that he was sold to universities, colleges, and hobbyists around the country. Callahan has produced several catalog editions that contain not only his stone tool and instructional materials but a good deal of his philosophy and ethical stances towards the field of flint knapping.^[1]

Two of the more unusual items to be found in Callahan’s Piltdown Productions inventory are his nontraditional obsidian knives and his obsidian scalpels. The nontraditional obsidian knives, which Callahan began producing in quantities in 1984, are made with the same traditional tools as are his prehistoric replications, but in a variety of shapes and sizes that are not based on any known prehistoric typology (Callahan 1999). Callahan originally began his work on nontraditional forms out of a desire to break out of the restrictions of traditional stone knife reproductions. His knives have won many awards and have often been featured in Blade magazine.

While his nontraditional knives were a way for Callahan to step outside the restrictions of the prehistoric typologies, his obsidian scalpels were a way for him to provide a service to mankind.^[1] The technology to make scalpel blades out of smoky obsidian, a volcanic glass that allows for the sharpest blade production, was first developed by Don Crabtree in the late 1970s. The blades, which have edges only a few molecules thick, are 100 to 500 times sharper than the traditional surgical steel scalpels (The University Record 1997). These ultra-sharp edges produce less scarring and tissue damage and speed the healing process. Though they are not popular in the medical field, Callahan’s obsidian scalpels have been used with great success in hundreds of operations, many performed by doctors and scientists at the University of Michigan Health System who have done extensive research using scalpels produced by Callahan."

Photo 6

The lithic grade scale was invented by Callahan for several reasons, mostly, I feel, to create a desirable point of reference for lithic quality and workability. The chart is based on a numerical system which starts with opal, the easiest to chip, and ends with felsite, the most difficult. Nearly every lithic analyst, flintknapper and archaeologist uses this as a standard reference in reports, papers, and articles. These new techniques for the study of stone tools, are now a standard and experimental archaeology. The concepts, "the lithic grade scale, and biface staging, are widely used in flintknapping circles to the point the most new knappers didn't even know these concepts were fairly new and again discovered largely by Callahan.

adaptation of Callahan by Otis

The stages of biface knapping are conceptual as the lithic reduction is a continuum, :

"Other stage analyses have focused on specific end products or specific knapping strategies. Biface reduction was analyzed by Errett Callahan (1979) in terms of seven stages: obtaining the blank, initial edging, primary thinning, secondary thinning, shaping to preform, finishing, and reworking/rejuvenation. Diagnostics for the stages were based on the cross-sectional shape of the tool, its width-to-thickness ratio, and its flake scar pattern. Less detailed stage distinctions were proposed for the associated debitage: indicators of relatively early-stage work included cortex, simple dorsal scar morphology, remnants of ventral flake bulbs on dorsal surfaces, and single-faceted platforms."

"Stage 1- obtaining the blank: Obtaining the raw lithic material

Obtain a blank {unmodified} piece of raw material. A blank -may be a spall-, irregular chunk, or any other form suitable for the end product. Action may vary from simply picking up a suitable piece to systematic flaking of a suitable spall from a core. Edges may vary from thin and sharp to thick and squared.

Edging. Shape is irrelevant.

Stage 2 rough out: Create a circumferential, roughly centered edge which is neither too sharp nor too blunt {ideally between about 55-75}. Work should focus on the zone with little or no attention being paid to the central zone, cross-section, or shape. Shape and width-thickness ratios may vary in the extreme. The edge should end up being roughly centered and bi-convex, without such concavities, convexities, steps, squared edges, or other irregularities as would hinder successful execution in the next stage.

Stage 3- primary thinning preform: Create a symmetrical hand axe-like outline with generous ' lenticular cross-sections and a straight and centered , bi-convex edge. Width-thickness ratios should fall between roughly 3.00 and 4.00 while edge-angles should fall between about 40- 60 degrees. Focus on the middle zone without losing control of the outer zone . Principal flakes should generally just contact or overlap in the middle zone, except on thin pieces, and be without such concavities, convexities , steps, or other irregularities as would hinder successful execution in the next stage.

Stage 4- secondary thinning preform: Create a symmetrical outline with flattened, lenticular cross-sections and a straight and centered, bi-convex edge. Thickness should gradually diminish during reduction so that width-thickness ratios end up falling between roughly 4.00 and 5.00 or more. Edge-angles should fall between about 25 and 45 degrees. Focus on the middle zone without losing control of the outer zone. Principle flakes should generally overlap, often considerably, in the middle zone. Generalization of the final shape may start now and pattern flake removals may be implemented. The resultant piece should be without significant concavities, steps, or irregularities as would hinder successful execution in the next stage.

Stage 5- shaping: Final preform: Create a symmetrical, more-or-less parallel-sided outline (if final shape is to be parallel-sided) of specific shape, with appropriately flattened, lenticular cross-sections, and a straight and centered, bi-convex edge. The outline and thickness should be within one set of principal flake removals from the final product (i.e., with about 2-4 mm at either edge.) Pattern flake removals may be employed, with flake terminations being feathered. Principal flake scars in the middle zone may or may not overlap those of the previous stage. Width-thickness ratios and edge-angles should be about the same as on the final product, which may (or may not) be greater than the secondary preform. Focus on the middle zone while giving special attention to outer zone regularity. The resultant piece should be without such concavities, convexity, steps, or irregularities as would hinder successful execution in the next stage.

Stage 6- flaked implement: Create an implement of specific, symmetrical shape, cross-sections, width-thickness ratios, thickness, and contours with a particular flake removal sequence and flake scar appearance, as appropriate to the type or anticipated function. The edge should be more or less straight but without final retouch and alignment, if needed. The focus should be upon the outer zone, with the flake scars penetrating into the middle zone as appropriate to the type or function. Fluting, if applicable, is done at this time.

Stage 7- Create a finished implement, with edges and hafting elements being retouched as appropriate to the type or anticipated function. Focus on the outer zone only so as to create a sharp, very straight and centered edge, not prepared in anticipation of another set of flake removals but for function. Execute basal hafting or finishing elements such as notching, shouldering stitching, ect. Lateral notching sequences if applicable, are applied at this time. Basal abrasion may also be done now, as appropriate."

SEE ALSO: http://www.pugetsoundknappers.com/how_to/how_to_instruction/Percussion.htm

Learning Phases

Callahan actually modified this concept from a multitude of experiences and research projects and studies. During Errett’s Virginia point studies he attempted to evolve from an “Abbevillian” level of biface evolution to an “Acheulean” level, he achieved nothing but a smaller and relatively thicker Abbevillian like bifaces This was described by Cllahan as learning Phase “A.” In other words, as he worked on a given biface, the piece evolved along the same cultural lines as lithic technology in a Leaky or Darwinian scale. I now a lot of knappers do not believe in human evolution, so I will say that as stone tools became more complex, they were used for more complicated purpose and the stages of knapping a biface mirrors the evolution of stone tools. These learning phases mirror reduction stages and again mirror the evolution stages. I have found in my wilderness journey that these same stages seem to fallow the natural sequences of seasons and the human adaptations to these seasons. I will present in the next issue of F M .

The learning phases, individual development Phase “A”, when billet flaking, platform preparation and near perpendicular, then bifaces become narrow and thin at the same rate learning phase “B” , a gradual improvement of biface thinning based on platform perfecting and billet technique learning phase “C”. It was quite an amazing discovery – the learning curve fallows the same large scale evolutionary path as the archaeological record of stone tool development. The width thickness ratio, that fallows the phases of developmental learning that Robert Patton and Callahan had been using for descriptive purposes had been the key to stone tool evolution.

Since 1987

Cliffside Workshops HISTORIC POST, OFFER NO LONGER VALID

(4/6/13) Notice : Errett suffered two bad falls in 2012, resulting in debilitating spinal fractures which currently leave him unable to teach regular classes, though private sessions may still be arranged.
However, he would enjoy giving occasional private lessons/coaching for a day or two at a time, any time of year, at your convenience. He misses teaching and invites your participation at Cliffside. (Write for an application. $100 / day.)
Some coaching topics to consider: Squaring and de-squaring; Stepping out; Challenge pieces; Holding positions; Staging; the Basic four; Eccentric notching; Punching; just watching demos of topics of your choice; Hammerstones & billets, Etc., etc...............
If you want to contact Errett for a possible private lesson, or to get on the mailing list for announcements, send your name and address to Errett..............

Errett Callahan
2 Fredonia Avenue
Lynchburg, Virginia 24503

(or print an addressed letter page viewed here )

Phone: 434-528-3444 (Let phone ring 8 times for message.)

- - Teaching Ancient Skills, Traditional Values, and Self Reliance - -

Offering Classes in

FLINTKNAPPING ; PRIMITIVE TECHNOLOGY

Errett Callahan, Instructor

" FLINTKNAPPING: Learn basic to advanced traditional flintknapping skills. Any skill level welcome. We take you wherever you are and push you upwards and onwards a bit. Learn how to make an arrowpoint from a flake by pressure alone; learn how to do percussion knife-making using traditional hand tools - hammerstones, and antler billets (no copper billets); learn the various stages of reduction in bifacing; witness a wide range of other skills - blademaking, punching, bipolar, stone axe making, square work, parallel flaking, etc. Obsidian is the primary stone used, but other flints are demonstrated as well. Instruction is not haphazard, but systematic, following guidelines in Callahan's BASICS manual. Proven results. Traditional knapping only.
     Number of days - For your convenience: For all sessions, choose any number of days instruction, from Day 1 to Day 7, always starting on Saturday, the first day. This way there's no repetition and you may leave any day of the week. Spur of the moment add-ons are allowed, so long as we can manage the food. See page 7 for costs.
     Errett's been overwhelmed a bit this winteer (2009) due to divorce and destruction of the kitchen & knapping shed from 2 winter storms. Restoration has turned the house & workshop inside out, but all should be back in order by the June session. He has a lot of catching up to do but do call if you have any questions.
     This flyer & application are the same as the previous years except for the dates. (Am trying to save paper.)

PRIMITIVE TECHNOLOGY: Choose one topic and see it through to completion. Others may choose other topics so you could see a variety of skills taught and demonstrated. Choose one - flintknapping, bowmaking, arrow making, pottery, basketry, fiber technology, or stone axe making. Other topics by request. Feel free to practice other skills during "down time." Also, Artifact Illustration.
Number of days - For your convenience: For all sessions, choose any number of days instruction, from Day 1 to Day 7, always starting on Saturday, the first day. This way there's no repetition and you may leave any day of the week. Spur of the moment add-ons are allowed, so long as we can manage the food. See page 7 for costs.

ARCHEOLOGISTS AND LITHIC ANALYSTS: Here is your chance to learn the "language" of flintknapping. Without an accurate understanding how can you interpret your findings correctly? Archeologist Zakariah Johnson says, "This type of study is essential for any lithics analyst wishing to go beyond static formal classification systems and appreciate the dynamic mental and mechanistic processes underlying past technology systems. Understanding the processes behind manufacturing helps put the leaves back on our currently bare family tree."

INSTRUCTION is one-on-one with plenty of personal consultation. All teaching takes place at Callahan's personal wooded home, Cliffside. His wife, Linda Abbey, handles meals, registration, and keeping the wheels running smoothly. During the evenings, students have the opportunity for campfire discussions or viewing of films and videos of relevant technologies. Students are encouraged to take advantage of Cliffside's large library and numerous recreation facilities. New in 1998 - outdoor lights and a sliding translucent roof over our knapping area. All in all, come prepared to get an education, not just training.

     DR. ERRETT CALLAHAN is your principal instructor at Cliffside. He has an MA and Ph.D. in anthropology (lithic technology and experimental archeology); an MFA in fine arts (painting); an Honorary Ph.D. in archeology from Uppsala University, Sweden; is on the faculty of the Department of Archeology, Uppsala University; has had over 200 research papers published (mostly on lithic technology and other primitive technologies); is advisor to countless archeologists, lithic analysts, and flintknappers worldwide. Callahan has over 50 years experience flintknapping and over 50 years shooting the bow. He is Founder of the Society of Primitive Technology and President of the Board 1989-1996. In 2009 he celebrates his 22nd anniversary of teaching workshops at Cliffside. But Callahan has been teaching primitive skills every year since 1971, both here and abroad. During this time he has personally taught flintknapping to 998 students (as of 2006). Callahan is the teacher of teachers, having taught instructors and students from BOSS, Outward Bound, Pathways', Brown's, Riggs', Watts', Cheatham's, Worsham's, the Sherwood's, and dozens of other outdoor programs and nature centers. And he has taught almost all the Board Members of the SPT. About 50% of his students return year after year. Any and all ethical prehistorians are welcome at Cliffside.
     Callahan regularly displayed his award-winning obsidian knives at knife shows from 1986-2005. He has now retired and spends his time writing his books on flintknapping and experimental archeology and upgrading his workshops. See his article in BLADE magazine - May, 1977: 16-19. He has won 11 top awards to date.
     Beginners - don't let this intimidate you. Most of our students are beginners. In fact Callahan has specialized in clarifying the principles of various primitive technologies especially for beginners. Thus, in the 7 day courses, students learn in a week what it took Callahan 10 years to learn on his own. Nothing makes him happier than passing on his knowledge to his students.

TEACHING ASSISTANTS: A talented TA is available for most sessions to provide students with additional help. These TA positions, which are also apprenticeships, serve to train up-and-coming technologists in how to prepare for and run a workshop and in answering students' questions and interpreting our explanations. No, we are not turning our teaching over to assistants, but they will be here to help. TAs neither receive nor pay money, but food is free. Nor do you have to be an "expert" to apply. TA applications are hereby solicited - for classes over 6. We need TAs. So, if you have taken one of our workshops in the past and are interested in this opportunity, let us know. Write for details.
TAs in the past have included: David Smith, Sean Grace, Dan Stueber, Jack Cresson, Barry Keegan, Anthony Follari, Darrell Duggins, Greg Nunn, Scott Madden, Doug MacLeod, Mike Jacks, Jan Apel, Ed O'Neill, Mike Stafford, Mark Amon, and Doug Meyer.

SCHOLARSHIPS: We offer one scholarship for a week-long workshop of your choice. This offer, which is competitive, is made possible by a generous gift from Bob Verrey, a former student, who believes in our mission. This scholarship is for a person in financial need and is independent of skill level. You must provide your own transportation. If you couldn't attend without this help, write for a scholarship application.

MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES: Students may bring their own tools and materials or purchase some from us. Your registration fee will cover the cost of obsidian and some other materials and tool rentals. But either way, you must have what's needed to attend. Requirements vary with session and topic. Lists will be sent to applicants.

LODGING: There is no charge for "camping out" under our covered porches or patio. We have army cots. Bring pillow and sleeping bag suitable for 20-40 degree nights in the fall and 50-80 degree nights in summer. No tents please. Or stay at a local motel at your own expense. A list will be sent.

MEALS: Food costs of $10/day are included in with tuition. Those who don't prefer our food may deduct this cost and bring their own or eat elsewhere (no place close). Veggies are welcome, but warn us well beforehand. Remember, meals are a high point at Cliffside.

     TO REGISTER: Fill out the printable application form and send it in with half of your tuition. Application fee of $25 is refundable only if class is filled. The $25 fee covers our mountains of paperwork and mailings to you and reverts to your materials fee upon arrival, saving you the double cost. Paperwork costs money whether you follow through or not. Tuition is $75/day. To this add the $10/day food cost, and one-time $25 application fee. Our chart on the printable application form simplifies this and shows how much to send in with your 1st and 2nd payments. Second half of payment is due by deadline indicated (usually 1 month before session starts - we now give you two extra months to pay). Tuition is refunded if you drop out before the deadline, but is forfeited if you drop out after the deadline. If you are applying after deadline has passed, don't panic. If we have room, we'll still take you, but you must then send in the entire payment with your application. We'll return it if we're full or if we have to cancel class. Write or call if in doubt.
     Applications received without payment will be put on hold until payment is received. If you fail to send in your 2nd payment by the deadline, your place will be forfeited without notice and your place will automatically go to next on list. We have a high demand for these courses so guard your position carefully. (Note: If you must forfeit, consider finding your own substitute and "selling" your spot to him. - Let us know if you do this.)
     After you register, you will receive periodic mailings concerning how to prepare, what to bring, how to get here, a suggested reading list, lodging information, etc. Try to do your reading before you arrive, as there will be little time for reading after arrival. Plan on a great time. Please join us."

Testimonials

"Marie and I have stayed in some interesting hideaways over the years, but none more fun than yours. Alaska to Mexico, Maine to Georgia, Cliffside is 5 star..."
Senter and Marie Jackson

"Each time I have studied with Errett, I gain more than just a little training. More than any other aspect, I appreciate the willingness to share what has taken decades to distill into systems that work. At Cliffside, I also find a teacher not just willing to demonstrate skills, but one who encourages close observation of demonstrations. For me, close observation of this type facilitates the ability to transform knowledge into know-how. . . The demos . . . are given at whatever level the students' current abilities will allow them to understand.
Mark Amon

"Thank you for unselfishly sharing your vast knowledge with me. I can assure you that any information you instilled in me will be passed on to my future students. I only hope I can do as good of a job as you have passing on traditions and values along with knowledge. I feel fortunate to now be both a student and friend of yours . . . . . During my Division 1 wrestling career at Ohio State University, I was coached by numerous Olympians and other World Class athletes . . . Errett Callahan, by far, is the greatest instructor of them all. He not only has a mastery over flintknapping and primitive skills as a whole, but he is a gifted teacher as well. Also to his credit, he is a man who takes time to discuss and pass down morals and values to his students, friends, and family, and lives by them as well . . . I am now extremely fortunate to be among those who consider him a role model, a teacher, and a friend."
William Schindler - Director, Center For Experimental Archeology

"Your concern and patience with the people you are teaching is fantastic. You have a wonderful ability to make people feel confident about what they are doing. You make your lectures interesting and yet light and humorous. You can keep a person's attention for long periods of time with your easy manner of teaching..."
Rod Johnson

"Thank you all for opening your home to me and taking the time to teach, cook, and just talk around the fire. Errett, you are an inspiration to anyone doing primitive technology, and people that have not experienced you do not know what they have missed."
Doug Meyer

"Thank you for the help with my archery form. Before last week I was having trouble hitting the target . . . but now I have consistent groupings around the bull . . . After your knapping workshops, I can pick up a 10,000 year old stone tool and instantly feel the decisions of the maker . . . The cores are making instant sense."
Mike Frank, Smithsonian Museum

"I just wanted to thank you again for the hospitality you extended this past week. I don't feel that I went to a class, but rather went to friends for the week (and learned more than I ever expected). The only thing that impressed me more than Errett's skills was the love I saw in your home. Melody is a very lucky girl to have parents such as you..."
Tom Laskowski

"There are remarkable parallels between you and Heifitz. Heifitz played with matchless precision, yet somehow he endowed the music with a glow that leaves the listener wondering if he truly heard what his ears had beheld. So I remember your master class. Certainly the students of Heifitz. . . must have felt as I did-that I was witnessing greatness, and I was fortunate to have been present..."
Dr. Barbara Harkness"

_____________________________

For a thorough review of our Flintknapping workshop, see Chris Wallace's article, "Flintknapping Workshop," in KNIVES ILLUSTRATED, May 1996: 80-83. (We'll send you a copy if you'd like.)

The Education of a Flintknapper by Michael Frank, 2007
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History
Cliffside Teaching Assistant, 2007

AVERAGE AMERICAN FLINTNAPPER
---------------------------------------------------------
1 - ARCHEOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE
Aware of a few North American point types of generic shape of end product only.

2 - KNOWLEDGE OF MODERN FLINTKNAPPING
Aware of a few modern knappers such as Waldorf, Blackwell and maybe a very few traditionalists such as Bradley, Nunn, and Callahan.

3 - TOOLS
Copper billets
Copper pressure flakers
Rock saws
Grinding machines
Lever machines

CLIFFSIDE TRAINED KNAPPER
------------------------------------------------

Knowledge of two million some years of stone tool evolution world wide: hand-axes, blade cores and blades, choppers, flake cores and flake types, stone axes and adzes, microblades, Levallois, Neo-lithic tool technology, block-on-block, bipolar, and finally more recent point types through their correct preform stages according to their cultural background -- as shown through the archeological record.

Aware of those experimental archeologists that rediscovered stone tool science, such as Crabtree, Sollberger, Bordes, Titmus, Tixier, Callahan, Bradley, Pelegrin, and others that went before them into legitimate flintknapping.

Soft stone hammers
Antler billets
Hardwood billets
Antler punches
Antler and copper-tipped pressure flakers
Ishi sticks with antler and wooden tips
Natural abrading stones

ERRETT CALLAHAN WITH DANISH DAGGER CLASS (RAY HARWOOD)

I met Errett in 1983, and we were largely pen pals ever since. He came to California on several trips that included lithic workshops and similar endeavors. I was steeped in the influence of the Wrightwood knap-in crowd and the influences of NARC. Clay Singer at NARC was the one that introduced me to the works of Callahan via the “Flintknapper’s Exchange” . When Errett and I would meet up, I was usually in the company of one of my flintknapping buddies, Barney DeSomone. Barney sums up some of Errett’s influence below:

Influence.

“I learned a lot from reading Errett's work on the Eastern Fluted Point Tradition. That was seminal for a lot of early knappers out here. I went to a seminar that Errett held at the Autry Museum back in the 80's along with several Southern California knappers and archaeologists that was inspirational. Seeing some of his highly refined points showed us what was possible in the art of knapping. Errett has had a very big influence in the knapping community”. Barney DeSimone 3/5/2016

D.C Waldorf of Branson, Missouri held Callahan’s research in high regaurd and after reading The Basics of Biface Knapping he completely revised is book in a Callahanian style. This book, showcasing many of these ideas in layman’s terms, influenced hundreds, if not thousands, Waldorf was one of the founding fathers of the Missouri knapping style. When I was a kid I was very interested in arrowheads. I used to find them once in a while when hunting with my dad and brother. Like many folks dabbling in flintknapping I eventually came upon Waldorf'’s original book, "Art of Flintknapping". T he books has sold many thousands of copies and is considered a classic, before and with the changes..

D.C. and his wife Val took over my "Flintknapping Digest",at my request, and turned it into "CHIPS" - this was a huge success. He also wrote many other books, including novels out of his rural Missouri cabin. D.C. and Val made a good living with "Mound Builder Books". Later D.C. Waldorf and Callahan became the pioneers of the new Danish Dagger movement in America .

I met Errett in 1985. I attended the first workshop he conducted at his home Cliffside. I can only say that it literally changed my life. For me, he became the model of craftsmanship and integrity. His approach to flintknapping, experiential and experimental archaeology influenced everything I did in the profession for the next 30 years. The Society of Primitive Technology was organized under his leadership at my home base, The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, NC. That organization went on to define the primitive technology movement with the publication of the Bulletin of Primitive Technology leading the way for twenty-five years. Errett remains my mentor, my inspiration and my dear friend to this day....Steve Watts

“The early literature is comprehensively discussed by Callahan (1979:8-24) and need not be repeated here. It was in this same treatise that Callahan's pioneering work set the stage for more intensive examination of the full range of Clovis bifacial technology. Most subsequent work has heavily relied on his publication (e.g., Saunders 1990; Morrow 1995). We are also guided by many of Callahan's concepts…” Bruce Bradley

Photo 7

ERRETT CALLAHAN WITH RAY HARWOOD (RAY HARWOOD)

RAY HARWOOD'S GLASS KNAPPING RESEARCH USING CALLAHAN

I took Ishi's reduction stages and applied Dr. Errett Callahan's (
1979) biface staging methodologies for my experimental reduction and
manufacturing sequencing. Lithic reduction staging for bottle glass
projectile points. Aside from the classic staging documentation of
Callahan some most intriguing ethnohistoric and experimental data
comes from several sources discussed below.

Paul Schumacher (1877) documented actual calculated biface staging
observed among the stone workers of the Klamath River Yurok.
Newcomer (1971) identified reduction staging as it applied to
aboriginal hand ax manufacture. Muto (1971), though denying an
actual distinct set of rigid stages, did apply a sequence to the
early stages of Clovis-like bifaced artifacts. Sharock (1966) gave a
five stages reduction sequence to biface reduction sequencing. A
stages sequence was applied to bottle glass reduction by the author
in 1983 and again in 1988. Nami adapted a variation of Callahan's
staging to Argentine lithic reduction in 1991. While the knapping
sequence of the traditional of lithic materials has been widely
documented ( those mentioned above to a lesser degree: Crabtree
1972 ,Callahan 1979., Whitaker, 1994 and Patten 1999 and others) ,
the study of glass knapping technology has been, for the most part,
restricted to a very few (Harwood, 1983, 1988, 2001, Wellman and
Ibarra 1978, 1988). Here again I am further adapting the stage -
sequencing theory to both plate and bottle knapping strategies .
According to Callahan biface reduction is not a random and continual
banging away at the edges, but a structured reduction strategy,
mindful of changing of width thickness relationships and edge
angles, this necessary to create a predetermined form having proper
features and attributes. This structured thought process involves
attaining stages within the reduction continuum, I submit a similar
scenario hold true for glass knapping.

Bottle Glass Reduction Stages {Figure 10}

Stage 1 - Blank: Glass bottle of suitable form for the end product.
Unmodified, beyond vertical edge removal. Plano-convex with at least
3/16 inch thickness. Detachment achieved with percussion
methodology.

Stage 2 - Rough out: Through percussion methodologies a
rough outline in created through the removal of excess raw material.
Large decordication flakes create a semi-lenticular cross-section.
Flakes are exacuted form both faces of the material , but focus on
the outer zone. The roughly centered, bi-convex edge should be
neither too sharp nor too blunt (ideally between 55-75 degrees).
Plano-convexity deminished, with flakes removed from the ventral
side first.

Stage 3 - Primary Preform; Symmetrical handaxe-like outline,
lenticular cross-section and straight/centered, bi-convex edge with
edge-angles falling between 40 - 60 degrees. Percussion methods are
set aside and " power stroke" pressure is used. An antler tine,
thick bone or wooden pressure flaked or dulled wire or untempered
nail was used, according to Callahan (1999) Ishi's flaker (Ishi
Stick) was a piece of deer horn bound to a stick about a foot long A
narrative of Ishi's tools follows from Pope (1918) follows: "he used
deer horn for the heavier work, but while with us he chiefly
employed a soft iron rod three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter and
eight inches long, having a handle of padded cloth bound to it for a
distance of sic Inches. The tool must be a substance that will dent
slightly and thus engage the sharp edge of obsidian." Callahan
reflects (1999), pressure flakers, Ishi sticks to be precise, must
have a flexible main shaft or handle , a rigid handle made for
increased trauma and shorter flakes. " It has been found that a
somewhat flexible shaft of the long composite tool provides an extra
kick that will send those flakes flying". A leather or hide pad
covers the left palm.

Stage 4 -Secondary Preform; Asymmetrical outline with, lenticular
cross-sections and a straight and centered, bi-convex edge. Edge
angles should fall between 25 - 45 degrees. For Ishi, an Isosceles
triangle. A sharper pressure tool tip is needed here and both Ishi
switched to a mounted wire pressure tool for glass work. Variant
angles were selected for desired flake patterns, (i.e. parallel-
oblique flakes directed diagonally across the surface of the biface
preform).

Stage 5 - is the finished preform , final retouch, notching ,
serration or pattern flaking is employed at this stage depending on
the anticipated final product. This process was carried out with
either a wire, nail mounted tool.

Dr. Hugo G. Nami

Archaeologist, National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)

Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas (University of Buenos Aires)

Researcher

Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, USA

Associated researcher

Email: hgnami@fulbrightmail.org

Qualifications

2000 Ph.D., Anthropological Sciences, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

1983 Lic. in Anthropological Sciences, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Research Fields

Paleoindian Archaeology

Experimental Archaeology

Lithic Analysis

Archaeological Method and Theory

Latest Pleistocene-Holocene Pale magnetism

ERRETT CALLAHAN WITH BRONZE AND FLINT DAGGERS (RAY HARWOOD)

This newest edition of THE BASICS OF BIFACIAL KNAPPING IN THE EASTERN FLUTED POINT TRADITION: A MANUAL FOR FLINTKNAPPERS AND LITHIC ANALYSTS by Dr. Errett Callahan was produced with the permission of Dr. Callahan in the effort to keep this extremely important volume available to archaeologists, students and flintknappers. THE BASICS is, unarguably, the most important and most referenced work pertaining to the stages of biface manufacture in the archaeological literature.

The text of this new edition is unchanged from the previous Fourth Edition except for the addition, on the cover and first page, of the web sites from which this book will be available for purchase: www.TheBasicsByCallahan.com and www.Thunderstones.com. This new edition is also printed on very high quality 60 lb. paper.

With the purchase of this new edition, you will receive by email a PDF of Callahan's latest revisions (2011) of Generic Biface Stages and Clovis Biface Stages.

New prices for the 2013 Fifth Edition are:

Retail - $30.00 plus postage:
$7.00 for US orders, $22.00 for Canada, $23.95 for all other countries.

Wholesale (minimum 10 book order) -
$25.00 each plus postage (postage determined per order).
Please contact for mailing rates:dan@thunderstones.com

MODERN TEACHING CASTS

Archaeology brought to life with functional replicas of Museum artifacts by Michael R. Frank

THE BASIC STAGES $75

In 2011, this set was made by Dr. Errett Callahan for Occpaleo. It was molded and cast in high grade silicones and epoxies, retaining every detail of the originals. With more than 50 years of study in the field, Dr. Callahan has literally written the book on Lithic reduction strategies, and remains one of the best flintknappers in the world. The stages show the correct reduction of bifaces as shown in the archaeological record. For more info/ordering, see (ITEMS FOR SALE)

CLOVIS STAGES CAST SET $100

This set was created by Dr. Errett Callahan in real stone, after a lifelong study of flintknapping and how it is correctly done in the archaeological record. At the forefront of teaching lithic technology, Dr. Callahan knapped these stages of reduction to show students how those stages defined the Clovis Culture tools, dating around 12,000 years ago. To see more photos and descriptions (see ITEM)http://www.occpaleo.com/lithiccasts/modernteachingcasts.html

The Old Rag report : a practical guide to living archeology

Author:	Errett Callahan; Virginia Commonwealth University. Department of Sociology & Anthropology.
Publisher:	Richmond, Va. : Dept. of Sociology and Anthopology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1974.

CALLAHAN, E., The Basics Of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition: A Manual For Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts, , 1975

CALLAHAN, E., The Basics Of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition: A Manual For Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts, , 4th edition, 2000.

Callahan, Errett (1987). An Evaluation of the Lithic Technology in Middle Sweden During the Mesolithic and Neolithic. Uppsala, Sweden: Societas Archaeologica Upsaliensis.

Callahan, Errett (1999). Piltdown Productions Catalog#5. Lynchburg, Virginia: Piltdown Productions.

Callahan, Errett (1999). "What is Experimental Archaeology?". Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills (Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs–Smith Publisher)

Harwood, Ray The History Of Modern Flintknapping. World Flintknapping Sciciety. 1^st Edition 1999.

Harwood, Ray Points of Light, Dreams of Glass. Bulletin of Primitive Technology. Spring 2001: No. 21

Harwood, Ray It’s a Danish Thing. Flintknapping Magazine. February 2016.

Sagan, Carl Broca’s Brain. 1979

Waldorf, D. C.The Art of Flintknapping. 3rd ed. Mound Arts and Trading Co., Branson, MO.

Watts, Steve (1997). "The Fire Watchers: A tribute to Errett Callahan". Bulletin of PrimitiveTechnology (14).

Wescott, David (1999). "Foreword". Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills (Salt Lake City, Utah: Gibbs–Smith Publisher).

Kris West, 2007 Biography of Errett Callahan

"And Now?

I am in the midst of writing a major book on flintknapping - everthing I know, practically. It's about how Danish Daggers are made. (Working title: NEOLITHIC DANISH DAGGERS: AN EXPERIMENTAL AND ANALYTICAL STUDY - It's addressed to both the archeologist and the flintknapper. This is a 20-year research project in which about 200 daggers have been produced. It has been funded by you, my dagger and knife buying customers, by a grant from the king of Sweden, and by Uppsala University. I am co-authoring it with Jan Apel, a PhD student at Uppsala and a fellow knapper. The book will do for daggers what THE BASICS did for bifaces but will include the final products in great detail and the debitage story too. Keep an eye out for it.

I am also in the final stages of writing a book on experimental archeology - everything I know on that too, another 15-year project. (Working title: THE CAHOKIA PIT HOUSE PROJECT: A CASE STUDY IN RECONSTRUCTIVE ARCHEOLOGY.) Watch for it.

Once the books are behind me, then I can start on my videos.

Over the years I have fought hard for what is ethical in flintknapping. (Yes, there is a sordid side to our history.) I have supported and will continue to support ethical flintknapping causes. And vice versa. You can count on it.

My work is done with the conviction that I can serve best by supporting causes and revealing my so-called "secrets." In fact, I make it my duty to see that my students can duplicate my accomplishments. This may be easier said than done, but that's my goal. I love teaching flintknapping.

Bud Lang, Editor of KNIVES ILLUSTRATED, says: "Errett Callahan (is) a master flintknapper, instructor, etc., a gentleman who makes some of the finest obsidian knives ever created." (KI, Oct. 1998: 4).

(Thanks Bud, but as I clearly state later on, I make no claims at being a master - though I think I am mature. Having worked extensively with the real masters, I am aware of the vast gap between them and me.)"

PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY :

2013

CALLAHAN, E., "Fishing Technologies At The Pamunkey Site – Phase II", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 46, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 40-49, Fall 2013.

2011

CALLAHAN, E., "Baskets and mats, folding & plaiting, twining and coiling", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 42, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 76-77, 10/2011.

CALLAHAN, E., "Final Journey. The passing of Thorbjørn Petersen, a gentle giant. 4 July 1945 – 29 August 2010", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 41, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 91-92, 05/2011.

CALLAHAN, E., "Stages of Clovis biface reduction, revised", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 42, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 92, 10/2011.

CALLAHAN, E., "Surviving: skills or heart?", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 42, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 85-86, 10/2011.

2008

CALLAHAN, E., "Basic training: an opinion", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 35, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 91, 2008.

CALLAHAN, E., Old Rag Archeology: experimentation and excavation, , Rexburg, ID, Society of Primitive Technology, Schiele Museum of Natural History, pp. 839, 2008.

2007

CALLAHAN, E., "The passing of a legend", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 34, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 89-91, 2007.

2006

CALLAHAN, E., "From - three levels of investment in reconstruction: therapy, experience and experiment", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 32, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 11-12, 2006.

2005

CALLAHAN, E., The Cahokia Project. A case study in reconstructive archeology, , Rexburg, ID, Society of Primitive Technology, Schiele Museum of Natural History, pp. 548, 2005.

2003

CALLAHAN, E., Doug Waldorf, Living Legend: A Biographical Tribute, , 2003.

CALLAHAN, E., "A tribute to Tomas Johansson", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 26, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 8, 2003.

2002

CALLAHAN, E., "Hans de Haas: the gentle giant", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 23, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 27-28, 2002.

CALLAHAN, E., "Silviculture", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 24, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 36-39, 2002.

2001

CALLAHAN, E., "Archaeological evidence of a Rotator Cuff injury", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 21, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 44-47, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "Archery In The Arctic - Part I", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 119-122, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "Archery In The Arctic - Part II", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 123-127, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "Archery In The Arctic - Part III", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 128-133, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Bipolar Technique: The Simplest Way To Make Stone Tools", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 217-220, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "Danish Neolithic Boat Project", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 195-196, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "How To Cook In Primitive Pottery", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 58-60, 2001.

CALLAHAN, E., "Simple Comparative Tests Between Oldowan, Abbevillian and Acheulian Technology", Primitive Technology II, Ancestral skills, from the Society of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 225-227, 2001.

2000

CALLAHAN, E., The Basics Of Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition: A Manual For Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts, , 4th edition, 2000.

CALLAHAN, E., "Experiments with Danish mesolithic microblade technology", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 20, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 62-68, 2000.

CALLAHAN, E., "Roving at Red House", Primitive Archer, vol. 8, issue 1, pp. 13-17, 2000.

CALLAHAN, E., "What is traditional flintknapping?", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 20, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 11, 2000.

1999

CALLAHAN, E., "About Animal Glues", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 190, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "Celts and Axes, Celts in the Pamunkey and Cahokia House building projects", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 94-98, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "Excerpts from the Pamunkey project, methodology and documentation", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 18, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 43-48, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "Flintknapper's syndrome: a caution to flintknappers", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 17, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 66-70, 1999.

1999

CALLAHAN, E., "Functional Motions, working wood with stone tools", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 116-118, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "How to make a Throwing Stick, The Non-Returning Boomerang", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 214-217, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "Ishi sticks, Iceman picks and good-for-nothing things: a search for authenticity in pressure flaking tools", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 18, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 60-68, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., Piltdown Productions Catalog, , vol. 5, pp. 72, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., and J. JEFFERS, Roving Handbook - an alternative to hunting, , Lynchburg, VA, Piltdown Productions, pp. 128, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "Stages of Manufacture - percussion reduction", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 78, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "To whom it may concern (endorsement for hunting with stone arrowpoints)", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 81, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "What Is Experimental Archaeology", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 4-6, 1999.

CALLAHAN, E., "A Word On Pitch", Primitive Technology, a book of earth skills, selection of articles from the Bulletin of Primitive Technology, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 190, 1999.

1998

CALLAHAN, E., D. ABBOTT, and K. VIARS, "Problem solving in primitive ceramics: a three part experiment", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 15, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 26-33, 1998.

1997

CALLAHAN, E., "Back to the Stone Age: How to Identify and Use the Best Stone Knives", Blade Magazine, vol. 24, issue 5: Krause Publications, pp. 16-19, 05/1997.

CALLAHAN, E., "Roving at Red House", Roving Handbook, pp. 99-107, 1997.

1996

CALLAHAN, E., "The basics of biface knapping in the Eastern Fluted Tradition: a manual for flintknappers and lithic analysts (preface)", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 11, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 56-60, 1996.

CALLAHAN, E., "In Defense of Level II", Primitive Technology Newsletter, vol. 2, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 8, 1996.

1992

CALLAHAN, E., L. FORSBERG, KNUTSSON K. KNUTSSON, Helena, and C. LINDGREN, "Frakturbilder: kulturhistoriska till det säregna sönderfallet vid bearbetning av kvarts", TOR, vol. 24, Uppsala, pp. 27-63, 1992.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Non Returning Boomerang", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 4, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 25-27, 1992.

CALLAHAN, E., "North American House Projects", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 3, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 31-33, 1992.

CALLAHAN, E., "Tools and Materials", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 3, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 25-26, 1992.

1991

CALLAHAN, E., "Arctic Archery", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 1, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 35-38, 1991.

CALLAHAN, E., "Arctic Archery: Part II", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 2, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 47-54, 1991.

CALLAHAN, E., "Contrasting Viewpoints: Does dressing the part detract from Authenticity", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 1, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 5-6, 1991.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Making of Science (Heaven Forbid!)", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 2, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 10, 1991.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Society as Campfire", Bulletin of Primitive Technology, vol. 1, Utah, Society of Primitive Technology, pp. 8-9, 1991.

1990

CALLAHAN, E., "Bågskytte i Arktis", Forntida Teknik - Pilbågar, vol. 2, Sveg, Institut för Forntida Teknik, pp. 17-28, 1990.

1987

CALLAHAN, E., "An evaluation of the lithic technology in Middle Sweden during the Mesolithic and Neolithic (The Suilver Book)", AUN Archaeological Studies, no. 8, Uppsala, pp. 72, 1987.

CALLAHAN, E., "Flintknapping in Scandinavia", Flintknapping: an emic perspective, Palmdale, pp. xx-xx, 1987. Harwood, Ray, publisher.

CALLAHAN, E., Primitive Technology: Practical Guidelines For Making Stone Tools, Pottery, Basketry, Etc. The Aboriginal Way, , pp. 25, 1987.

1986

CALLAHAN, E., "A Reply to Edwards", Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 41, issue 2: Archaeological Society of Virginia, pp. 108-112, 1986.

CALLAHAN, E., "A Reply to Thurman", Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 41, issue 2: Archaeological Society of Virginia, pp. 97-105, 1986.

1985

CALLAHAN, E., The Cahokia Pit House Project: a case study in Reconstructive Archaeology [Unpublished manuscript], , 1985.

CALLAHAN, E., Various comments and letters on flintknapping, 1984-1995. Flintknapping Digest, Harwood, Ray, publisher.

CALLAHAN, E., "Experiments with Danish mesolithic microblade technology", Journal of Danish Archaeology, vol. 4, Odense, pp. 23-39, 1985.

CALLAHAN, E., "The St. Mary's longhouse experiment: the first season", Archaeological Society of Virginia Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 40, pp. 12-40, 1985.

1982

CALLAHAN, E., "An Interview with Flintknapper Jacques Pelegrin", Contract Abstracts, vol. 3, issue 1: Atechiston, Inc., pp. 62-70, 1982.

CALLAHAN, E., "The second international work seminar in lithic technology (Lejre, August 1-9 1981)", Flintknappers' Exchange, vol. 5, issue 1, Washington, pp. xx-xx, 1982.

CALLAHAN, E., "The second international work seminar in lithic technology (Lejre, August 1-9 1981)[reprint from: Flintknappers' Exchange, vol 5 (1)]", Bulletin of Experimental Archaeology, vol. 3, Southampton, Department of Adult Education, University of Southampton, pp. 12-16, 1982.

1981

CALLAHAN, E., "Comment on “Fineness Syndrome”", Flintknapper’s Exchange, vol. 4, issue 1, Atechiston, pp. 12, 1981.

CALLAHAN, E., The maturation of experimental archaeology: a critical view, paper delivered at colloquium: "experimental archaeology: the Old and the New", at the Second International Work Seminar in Lithic Technology, Lejre Center, Lejre, Denmark, 6 August 1981, typesc, , 1981.

CALLAHAN, E., The new experimental archaeology: a case study. Paper given at Prehistoric Institute, University of Arhus, Moesgård, Denmark, 17 november 1981, typescript available from author, , 1981.

CALLAHAN, E., "Pamunkey housebuilding: an experimental study of late woodland construction technology in the Powhatan Confederacy", Department of Anthropology, Ann Arbor, Catholic University of America, University of America, pp. 538, 1981.

1980

CALLAHAN, E., "Spatial Organization of the Work Areas of Three Contemporary Flintknappers", Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 35, issue 2: Archaeological Society of Virginia, pp. 101-108, 1980.

CALLAHAN, E., "Two new books on experimental archaeology", Flintknappers' Exchange, vol. 2, Washington, pp. 3-6, 1980.

1979

CALLAHAN, E., "The basics of biface knapping in the eastern fluted point tradition: a manual for flintworkers and lithic analysts [Reprinted 1990, 1996, 2000]", Archaeology of Eastern North America, vol. 7, issue 1, Washington/Connecticut, pp. 1-180, 1979.

1978

CALLAHAN, E., "Craftsman Sollberger [Solly J.B. Sollberger][interview by E.C.]", Flintknappers' Exchange, vol. 1, issue 1, Washington DC, pp. 12, 1978.

CALLAHAN, E., "Craftsmen: an Interview with Jeff Flenniken", Flintknappers' Exchange, vol. 1, issue 3, pp. 16-24, 1978.

1976

CALLAHAN, E., "Documentation of artifacts, Pamunkey Project phase I", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 178-242, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, , vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 456, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., "Experimental Archeology: Unlocking the Doors of Time", Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 30, issue 3: Archaeological Society of Virginia, pp. 154-158, 1976.

ANDREFSKY, W., "Experimentation and analyzation of unmodified and unifacially modified flakes associated with trapping in a subsistence based situation", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 304-313, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., "Fishing technologies at the Pamunkey site, phase II", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. xx-xx, 1976.

HORREÜS de HAAS, R., "How to Get to Pamunkey if You’re Seventy-one", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 257, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., "Lithic technology at the Pamunkey site, phase II", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 376-422, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Pamunkey Project, phases I and II", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. xx-xx, 1976.

WELTON, J., "Shell Technology at the Pamunkey Site", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 339-358, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., "Shelter Construction at the Pamunkey Site", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 160-177, 1976.

1976

CALLAHAN, E., Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), The Pamunkey Project Phases I and II, , vol. 4, Richmond, Virginia, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 456, 1976.

CALLAHAN, E., "Experimental Archeology: Unlocking the Doors of Time", Quarterly Bulletin, vol. 30, issue 3: Archaeological Society of Virginia, pp. 154-158, 1976.

1974

RIVERS, S. T., "Some problems in living archeology", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), vol. 3, Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 129-134, 1974.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Wagner basalt quaries: a preliminary report", Experimental Archaeology Papers (APE), vol. 3, Richmond, Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 9-128, 1974.

1973

CALLAHAN, E., "Flint workshop debitage", Newsletter of Experimental Archaeology, vol. 2, Richmond, Virginia, 23220, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 51-63, 03/1973.

CALLAHAN, E., Lithic Technology Part I: Percussion Biface Replication, , Richmond, VA, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1973.

CALLAHAN, E., "Living Archeology—Toward a Better Understanding of the Past", Archaeology Magazine, vol. 26, pp. 220, 07/1973.

CALLAHAN, E., "The Old Rag Project, a preliminary report", Newsletter of Experimental Archaeology, vol. 2, Richmond, Virginia, 23220, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., pp. 64-77, 03/1973.

CALLAHAN, E., The old rag report: a practical guide to living archaeology, , Richmond, Virginia, 23220, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth University, pp. 156, 1973.

CALLAHAN, E., Variability in the Early Stages of Manufacture of Virginia Fluted Points: an experimental study, : Catholic University of America, University of America, pp. 179, 1973.

1972

CALLAHAN, E., "Acheulean Handaxes", Experimental Archeology Newsletter (APE), vol. 1, Richmond, VA, Virginia Commonwealth University, pp. 20-24, 1972.

CALLAHAN, E., "Course description. In Experimental Archeology 499-E: A sampling", Experimental Archeology Newsletter (APE), vol. 1, Richmond, VA, Virginia Commonwealth University, pp. 3-4, 1972.

CALLAHAN, E., Experimental Archaeology Newsletter, , vol. 1, Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1972.

1971

CALLAHAN, E., "Experimental Archaeology 499-E (mimeographed)", Newsletter of Experimental Archaeology, Richmond, Virginia, 23220, Dept of Sociology & Anthropology, Virginia Commonwealth Univ., 1971.

1969

CALLAHAN, E., "Chip your own arrowheads", Bow and Arrow Magazine, vol. 6, issue 6, pp. 24-27, 1969.

1964

CALLAHAN, E., "Make Your Own Micropack", Sports Afield, vol. 151, issue 6, pp. 56-104, 1964.

The Thinking Man: One of the most knowledgeable and talented
flintknappers of our time was a Virginia Flintknapper, whom has
influenced hundreds, if not thousands, Errett Callahan. We can sit
and wonder where Callahan came from and why he was such an influence.
The answer is this, Callahan came into knapping with a great deal of
The International Flintknappers ‘ Hall of Fame and Museum is encouraging individuals of all ages to “Be A Superior Example,” through a new education program as part of a new curriculum to promote healthy habits, while encouraging everyone to live free of drugs and other such substances or vices. It serves as the central point for the study of the history of flintknapping in the United States and beyond, displays flintknapping-related artifacts and exhibits, and honors those who have excelled in the craft, research/ writing, promoting events, and serving the knapping community in an ethical and wilderness loving manner. skill, intellegence and strength, at a time when a whole new
generation of archaeologists were coming out of the old school with a
lot of questions. Crabtree had just released his book and was bumping
out students by the bus load. Archaeology was hungry and Callahan was
just what the doctor ordered. He had fresh ideas and an uncanning
knapping ability intertwined the craft and theory like no one before
or since.
In 1956, just out of high school, Errett spent the summer in
Yellowstone National Park working at the Old Faithful general store.
He was exposed to a lot of history at the park and had access to
obsidian, this gave him the start he needed and he began knapping
seriously then and has been doing it full steam ever since, later
combining his early grinding methods as part of his flaking strategy.
It started on a trip out when he was waiting for the train in
Montana. He went into a local library and found a book on various
point types. He was fascinated by this and it sort of plugged some
into his memory. In his spare time he would try to duplicate these,
using small pieces of obsidian and bottle glass and guided only by
the flintknapping picture in Holling's book. It was another 10 years
before Errett realized that there were other people flintknapping. Up
until then he thought he was the only one.
Errett read more and more of Bordes's works and met him several
times. Francois Bordes stayed at Callahan's house for several days in
1977. Bordes, as Errett, was inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs and he
published numerous science fiction novels. Callahan, as a college
student, had once been assigned to be Bordes's escort to a knapping
demonstration sponsored by the Anthropology department in D.C. for
the Leaky Foundation lectures. In 1977 Bordes spent four days
knapping there in Richmond. Bordes had plenty of money to visit the
U.S.A. because not only was he a master flintknapper and Europe's
leading archaeologist, but also one of the most popular science
fiction writers in France. According to Callahan Bordes wrote dozens
of novels under the pen name of Franci Carsac. Callahan was
influenced quite a bit by Bordes. At the same time Errett was also
reading the works of Don Crabtree. Errett was Fascinated by Crabtree,
they met in Calgary in 1974 and Crabtree gradually became a heavy
influence on Errett's knapping. J.B. Sollberger was another major
influence and led Errett to bigger and better things than he could
have without that input. Gene Titmus of Idaho, a friend of Crabtree
was also a major influence on Callahan, mostly his notching and
serrating techniques. Errett stayed in close contact with Gene for
many years, Gene a master knapper of percussion and, like Don, about
the nicest and humblest guy he'd ever met.
Some other overseas influences on Errett were Jacques Pelegrin and Bo
Madsen. Pelegrin had been Bordes number one student in France,
working under him for years. Pelgrin first trained with Bordes over
six summers, for three weeks each summer. Pelegrin worked with a
hardwood billit, which he learned to use from Bordes's friend in
Paris, Jacques Tixier, whom was one of the Masters of flintworking of
the time. Pelegrin became very good with boxwood. Jacques Pelegrin's
father built a cottage in the French woods, here Jacques reflected on
archaeological concepts and flintknapping. At this time, in the
1970s, Pilegrin was writing a bit back and forth to Master Don
Crabtree in the USA and Jacques had begun to read and interprit
Crabtree's publications. Pelegrin did public flintknapping
demonstations in the Archeodrome, which is on the main road between
Beaune and Lyon, France. He is concidered one of the best
flintknappers in the world. Pelegrin and Bordes learned English
together and spend years flintknapping together and learning, master
and student became knapping partners. Jacques Pelgrin went through
almost all the Paleolthic French technologies while learning his
craft- Levallois, blade making, different kinds of Paleolithic tools,
different kinds of flint cores, and leave points, including Solutrean
pressure material. It is an interesting fact that Pelegrin learned to
flintknap standing up and only changes after his first exposure to
other knappers and text.
Bo Madsen is Denmark's premier flintknapper, a grand- master of the
Danish art. Madison is an expert on Danish lithics and earned his
Ph.D. at Arhus in Jutland, Denmark. Madsen's dagger research
influenced Callahan greatly and this spread to America and in this
era many knappers were attempting dagger production: Waldorf, Patten,
Stafford, Flenniken and Callahan in particular. Errett spend a good
deal of time in the 1970s in Scandinavia and returned again in August
of 1984. Madsen had moved over to the University of Arhus and was
teaching a talented portage, Peter Vemming Hansenat at the University
of Copenhagen, the two had co-wrote and published a paper on the
replication of square- sectioned axes. While in Scandinavia Callahan
gave several flintknapping workshops sponsored by the Archaeological
Institute of the University of Uppsala, Sweden, he was assisted by Bo
Madsen and Dr. Debbie Olausson. According to Callahan, the Copenhagen
area has several talented non-academic knappers as well Thorbjorn
Peterson, Asel Jorgensen, and Soren Moses.
In later years Errett's biggest influence was Richard Warren. Richard
was completely underground and out of contact for most of his
knapping life, he became a lapidary knapper that had an exclusive
clientele. Richard Warren's work was incredibly precise, much more
than anyone at the time thought was possible. Errett had to
reconstruct the Warren technique entirely from scratch. Richard
Warren showed Errett one important thing- perfection is possible- and
that's all he needed to know. Richard Warren died a few years ago,
Warren's curiosity was to know what could be done with flint if
someone picks up where the best stone age knappers abandoned the
craft for metal technology or extinction. In short Richard's quest
was for knapping for the sake of art-perfection, by any means
possible. Richard used the term "Teleolithics" to describe what we
now call lapidary knapping, flake over grinding (lap-knapping). After
Hannus' colon operation, in 1983, for which Errett made the obsidian
blades used in the surgery and observed the entire operation, two of
Callahan's students decided to start a company with him to market
these blades to the medical community. The one who was supposed to do
the marketing dropped out and little became of " Aztecnics".
Errett markets his obsidian art through "Piltdown Productions" in
Virginia. Callahan is best known for his published work The Basics Of
Biface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition A Manual For
Flintknappers And Lithic Analysts. This was published in Archaeology
Of North America, . He has also published many other books and
articles. Including: "Flintknappers' exchange" (the original
journal), "The Emic Perspective" and "Flintknapping Digest". The
Basics Of Biface knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition was
the single most influential lithic book ever written.
The Callahan biface book is Vol. 7, No. 1 of the journal Archaeology
Of Eastern North America. The book introduced many new techniques for
the study of stone tools, for standard and experimental archaeology.
The concepts, "the lithic grade scale, and biface staging, are widely
used in flintknapping circles to the point the most new knappers
didn't even know these concepts were fairly new and discovered by
Callahan.
As Crabtree before him Callahan was the only living flintknapper with
the confidence to have major surgery done with stone tools he crafted
himself. According to the news release on December 9th, 1998, Errett
Callahan had major surgery done to repair his right rotator cuff
tendon. The two hour landmark operation was done by Dr. Jay Hopkins
of Blue Ridge Orthopedics at Lynchburg General Hospital. Callahan's
rotor cuff tendon had become completely torn off the top of his
humerus bone and had to be extensively reworked. Dr Hopkins said that
it was as bad a tear as he had ever witnessed. All incisions were
made with Callahan's obsidian scalpels. Dr. Hopkins, after performing
the operation, was impressed with the great reduction of bleeding in
the initial incisions and states: I used the obsidian blade for a
shoulder operation and found them quite satisfactory. They performed
very much like a scalpel and the bleeding with the first cut through
the skin was minimal. Healing appears to be very much normal, if not
accelerated.
Errett Callahan was founder and president of the Society of Primitive
Technology for many years . The Society is an international
organization devoted to the preservation of a wide range of primitive
technologies. The SPT preserves and promotes this knowledge
principally by means of a remarkable magazine, the Bulletin of
Primitive Technology. Errett has now retired from his editor and
chief and president but he will stay an active member. For more
information contact Society of Primitive Technology, P.O. Box 905,
Rexburg, Id 83440. The Bulletin is now being edited and produced by
Primitive skills expert David Wescott. At this time Errett Callahan
is in the midst of writing a major book on flintknapping - everything
he knows...and he knows a lot..The book is going to focus a on Danish
Daggers. The book is addressed to both the archaeologist and
flintknapper a like. This book is a 20-year research project in which
200 daggers were replicated. The research was funded by a grant from
the King of Sweden and by Uppsala University. Callahan is cowritting
the book with Jan Apel, a PhD student at Uppsala and fellow
flintknapper. The new book will do for daggers what his biface book
did for that field. Callahan is also working on a book on
experimental archaeology.
Callahan still puts on his week long classes at Cliff Side on
flintknapping, traditional archery, primitive pottery, lithic
analysis, and more. Bob Verrey, a former student and long time
flintknapper, archaeologist and supplier of knapping tools offers a
scholarship to the school but it is very competitive. .
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Saturday June 3, 2006 - 10:22am (PDT) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 Comments
Entry for June 03, 2006
Entry for June 03, 2006 magnify
Crabtree, often referred to as "the Dean of American
flintknapping". He was born June 8, 1912, in Heyburn, Idaho.
According to Harvey L. Hughett of the University of Idaho: Don spent
his early youth in Salmon, Idaho where he first became interested in
Indians and their tools. His mother would have him run errands for
the next-door neighbor and as a reward this woman would give Don an
arrowhead which her husband had gathered. Young Don became fascinated
with these tools and even at this early age began to wonder why and
how they were made. There were, at this time, many Indians in Salmon.
Thanks to Harvey Hughett, at the University of Idaho, whom is now
curator of the Don Crabtree Lithic Collection, we now know much more
about Don Crabtree's childhood. I spoke to Mr. Hughett a few in
October of 1999 (Val Waldorf had no problem either) he gave me
permission to quote his copyright article on Don Crabtree in Chips
Vol. 11, No.3, 1999.: "Young Don became fascinated with these tools
and even at this early age began to wonder why and how they were
made. There were, at this time, many Indians in Salmon. Their custom
was to sit flat on the sidewalk with their legs stretched in front of
them. Don found it great fun to jump over their legs and to talk with
them, for which he was severely reprimanded by his mother.
When Don was six, his Family moved to Twin Falls. This was desert
country and Don spent most of his time hunting for artifacts, Indian
campsites and building his collection of Indian tools. The family's
home was just a stone's through from the Snake River Canyon and Don
spent every possible moment hunting in the canyon, collecting from
campsites and caves and adding to his collection. He also collected
obsidian flakes and began to try to reproduce the artifacts. This
meant more trips to the canyon for knapping material. Soon, young
Crabtree had gathered a fairly large collection of artifacts and his
interest in experimenting with different stones and methods of
manufacture to achieve replication increased. He tried many
approaches to holding and applying force but with little success and
much failure. After interviewing many local Indians, he was
disappointed that he was unable to learn anything of how these
fascinating artifacts were made. Flintknapping was essentially a lost
art even at the time.
Don was constantly in trouble with his father for being away from
home so much, for the many cuts on his hands and the permanent
bloodstains on his clothing. He received many reprimands for coming
home after dark. Even this did not cure him of his quest for
knowledge of the Native Americans and their tools. At one point, his
father became so disgusted with Don spending so much time knapping he
offered to pay him $100.00 if he would promise never to make another
arrowhead. Don wanted a bicycle and a gun so badly that he considered
this offer for some time. However, the love of Indian lore won and he
told his father that he could not give up his attempts to make tools
as the Indians had.
In the late 1930's he was supervisor of the Vertebrate and
Invertebrate Laboratory at the University of California at Berkley,
this is also where Ishi's artifacts are curated. Also, Ted Orcutt
still lived not far to the North. Crabtree also worked in the
Anthropology lab with the well known Anthropologist Alfred Krueber,
whom was Ishi's friend and caretaker at the museum a few short years
before. According to Dr. Errett Callahan (1979), following a
flintworking demonstration at a meeting of the American Association
of Museums in Ohio, in 1941, Crabtree was employed at the Ohio State
Lithic Laboratory with H. Holmes Ellis and Henry Shertrone. He was
also advisor in Lithic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and
the Smithsonian Institution's museum.
During world war II, Crabtree was coordinating Engineer with
Bethlehem Steel in California. Between 1952 and 1962, he was County
Supervisor with the U.S.D.A in Twin Falls, Idaho. In 1962 and 1975,
Crabtree was research associate in lithic technology at the Idaho
State Museum in Pocatello."
Not only was Crabtree a master flintknapper and an inspirational
flintknapper , he was also an expert on the theoretical aspect of
stone tool studies. Crabtree published papers on replicative
flintworking and other aspects of lithic studies in such publications
as:
"American Antiquity" (1939,1968), "Current Anthropology"
(1969), "Science" (1968,1970), "Curator" (1970), "Tebiwa" (1964,
1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973,1974), and "Lithic Technology" (1975).
Crabtree's textbook, "An Introduction to Flintworking", was the main
publication readily available from 1972 on. The Crabtree book,
although 26 years old, is still a classic and is one of the most
referenced books in lithic studies today. The book is easy to read
and is full of excellent drawings and text. The book is available
through the Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University,
Pocatello, Idaho. They also have republished Crabtree's articles,
papers, and videos, his articles are better than ours decades later.
Crabtree was featured in many archaeological films in his day, many
were shown around the world in class rooms from elementary school to
doctoral classes. These films influence many up and coming
flintknappers. The film "Blades and Pressure Flaking" (1969) won best
anthropology film at the 1970 American Film Festival.
In 1972, the Idaho Museum of Natural History received a grant from
the National Science Foundation for the production of several 16mm
films featuring the legendary flintknapper. Just a few years ago
these films were dubbed onto VHS video tape and made available to the
public through Idaho Museum Publications. Though faded somewhat, this
footage still maintains its detail and shows Don Crabtree at his
best. In the Shadow of Man , Don is shown quarrying obsidian at Glass
Buttes in Oregon. The Flintworker discusses the basics of
flintknapping, stone tools are made using simple percussion
techniques, and the Hertzian cone theory is introduced. Ancient
Projectile Points covers the making of bifacial points. The hunter's
Edge covers prismatic blade making. The Alchemy of Time concerns heat
treating, and the manufacture of Clovis, Folsom and Cumberland
points. In 1978, Crabtree had open heart surgery with stone tools.
The blades Crabtree made were so sharp that Crabtree's doctor agreed
to use them on him after seeing how sharp they were. The first
surgery one of Crabtrees's Ribs and a lung section were removed, an
18 inch cut. Crabtree's stone tools were so sharp that there was
hardly a scar.
Don Crabtree flintknapped all types of artifacts including fluted
Folsom , parallel flaking, chevron flaking, notching, blade making
and even Ted Orcutt style large obsidian biface points. His large
points were very similar to Orcutts , some were so thin that they
looked like dinner plates, his obsidian arrow points were very
similar to those he helped to curate in Berkley made by Ishi.
While working agate Crabtree noticed that his had a satiny texture
and the Indian arrowheads out of the same material were like opal.
After much experimentation he rediscovered heat treating of flint
materials to improve knapping quality.
In the later part of his life Crabtree traveled the world meeting and
flintknapping with each nations leaders in lithic fields of endeavor
and really opened the door for all of us. During this time
flintknapping saw its heyday, "knap-ins", lithic conferences and
publications. Sort of what what is happening now but with the
academics.
Don Crabtree, Dean of American flintknappers, died on November 16,
1980 from complications of heart disease, within six months of
Francois Bordes . When Bordes and Crabtree passed away the 1970's
academic flintknapping heyday passed away with Them. THE PALEO
KNAPPERS : The Late Don Crabtree, of southern Idaho, is considered to
be the "Dean of American Flintknapping" not only for his fine
publications, but also for the vast amount of important information
he uncovered in a life devoted to the study of stone tools. Don was
most probably the first flintknapper in thousands of years to flute a
Folsom point, as early as 1941 Crabtree was employed at the Lithic
Laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania and the prestigious
Smithsonian Institution. He had experimented with fluting in the
1930s but became quite famous for his studies into the Lindenmier
Folsom in 1966 . Don Crabtree passed away on November 16, 1980.
Jeffery Flenniken and Gene Titmus, students of Crabtree carried on
the studies and are still considered to be among the best
flintknappers in the world.
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The Thinking Man: One of the most knowledgeable and talentedflintknappers of our time was a Virginia Flintknapper, whom hasinfluenced hundreds, if not thousands, Errett Callahan. We can sitand wonder where Callahan came from and why he was such an influence.The answer is this, Callahan came into knapping with a great deal ofThe International Flintknappers ‘ Hall of Fame and Museum is encouraging individuals of all ages to “Be A Superior Example,” through a new education program as part of a new curriculum to promote healthy habits, while encouraging everyone to live free of drugs and other such substances or vices. It serves as the central point for the study of the history of flintknapping in the United States and beyond, displays flintknapping-related artifacts and exhibits, and honors those who have excelled in the craft, research/ writing, promoting events, and serving the knapping community in an ethical and wilderness loving manner. skill, intellegence and strength, at a time when a whole newgeneration of archaeologists were coming out of the old school with alot of questions. Crabtree had just released his book and was bumpingout students by the bus load. Archaeology was hungry and Callahan wasjust what the doctor ordered. He had fresh ideas and an uncanningknapping ability intertwined the craft and theory like no one beforeor since.In 1956, just out of high school, Errett spent the summer inYellowstone National Park working at the Old Faithful general store.He was exposed to a lot of history at the park and had access toobsidian, this gave him the start he needed and he began knappingseriously then and has been doing it full steam ever since, latercombining his early grinding methods as part of his flaking strategy.It started on a trip out when he was waiting for the train inMontana. He went into a local library and found a book on variouspoint types. He was fascinated by this and it sort of plugged someinto his memory. In his spare time he would try to duplicate these,using small pieces of obsidian and bottle glass and guided only bythe flintknapping picture in Holling's book. It was another 10 yearsbefore Errett realized that there were other people flintknapping. Upuntil then he thought he was the only one.Errett read more and more of Bordes's works and met him severaltimes. Francois Bordes stayed at Callahan's house for several days in1977. Bordes, as Errett, was inspired by Edgar Rice Burroughs and hepublished numerous science fiction novels. Callahan, as a collegestudent, had once been assigned to be Bordes's escort to a knappingdemonstration sponsored by the Anthropology department in D.C. forthe Leaky Foundation lectures. In 1977 Bordes spent four daysknapping there in Richmond. Bordes had plenty of money to visit theU.S.A. because not only was he a master flintknapper and Europe'sleading archaeologist, but also one of the most popular sciencefiction writers in France. According to Callahan Bordes wrote dozensof novels under the pen name of Franci Carsac. Callahan wasinfluenced quite a bit by Bordes. At the same time Errett was alsoreading the works of Don Crabtree. Errett was Fascinated by Crabtree,they met in Calgary in 1974 and Crabtree gradually became a heavyinfluence on Errett's knapping. J.B. Sollberger was another majorinfluence and led Errett to bigger and better things than he couldhave without that input. Gene Titmus of Idaho, a friend of Crabtreewas also a major influence on Callahan, mostly his notching andserrating techniques. Errett stayed in close contact with Gene formany years, Gene a master knapper of percussion and, like Don, aboutthe nicest and humblest guy he'd ever met.Some other overseas influences on Errett were Jacques Pelegrin and BoMadsen. Pelegrin had been Bordes number one student in France,working under him for years. Pelgrin first trained with Bordes oversix summers, for three weeks each summer. Pelegrin worked with ahardwood billit, which he learned to use from Bordes's friend inParis, Jacques Tixier, whom was one of the Masters of flintworking ofthe time. Pelegrin became very good with boxwood. Jacques Pelegrin'sfather built a cottage in the French woods, here Jacques reflected onarchaeological concepts and flintknapping. At this time, in the1970s, Pilegrin was writing a bit back and forth to Master DonCrabtree in the USA and Jacques had begun to read and interpritCrabtree's publications. Pelegrin did public flintknappingdemonstations in the Archeodrome, which is on the main road betweenBeaune and Lyon, France. He is concidered one of the bestflintknappers in the world. Pelegrin and Bordes learned Englishtogether and spend years flintknapping together and learning, masterand student became knapping partners. Jacques Pelgrin went throughalmost all the Paleolthic French technologies while learning hiscraft- Levallois, blade making, different kinds of Paleolithic tools,different kinds of flint cores, and leave points, including Solutreanpressure material. It is an interesting fact that Pelegrin learned toflintknap standing up and only changes after his first exposure toother knappers and text.Bo Madsen is Denmark's premier flintknapper, a grand- master of theDanish art. Madison is an expert on Danish lithics and earned hisPh.D. at Arhus in Jutland, Denmark. Madsen's dagger researchinfluenced Callahan greatly and this spread to America and in thisera many knappers were attempting dagger production: Waldorf, Patten,Stafford, Flenniken and Callahan in particular. Errett spend a gooddeal of time in the 1970s in Scandinavia and returned again in Augustof 1984. Madsen had moved over to the University of Arhus and wasteaching a talented portage, Peter Vemming Hansenat at the Universityof Copenhagen, the two had co-wrote and published a paper on thereplication of square- sectioned axes. While in Scandinavia Callahangave several flintknapping workshops sponsored by the ArchaeologicalInstitute of the University of Uppsala, Sweden, he was assisted by BoMadsen and Dr. Debbie Olausson. According to Callahan, the Copenhagenarea has several talented non-academic knappers as well ThorbjornPeterson, Asel Jorgensen, and Soren Moses.In later years Errett's biggest influence was Richard Warren. Richardwas completely underground and out of contact for most of hisknapping life, he became a lapidary knapper that had an exclusiveclientele. Richard Warren's work was incredibly precise, much morethan anyone at the time thought was possible. Errett had toreconstruct the Warren technique entirely from scratch. RichardWarren showed Errett one important thing- perfection is possible- andthat's all he needed to know. Richard Warren died a few years ago,Warren's curiosity was to know what could be done with flint ifsomeone picks up where the best stone age knappers abandoned thecraft for metal technology or extinction. In short Richard's questwas for knapping for the sake of art-perfection, by any meanspossible. Richard used the term "Teleolithics" to describe what wenow call lapidary knapping, flake over grinding (lap-knapping). AfterHannus' colon operation, in 1983, for which Errett made the obsidianblades used in the surgery and observed the entire operation, two ofCallahan's students decided to start a company with him to marketthese blades to the medical community. The one who was supposed to dothe marketing dropped out and little became of " Aztecnics".Errett markets his obsidian art through "Piltdown Productions" inVirginia. Callahan is best known for his published work The Basics OfBiface Knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition A Manual ForFlintknappers And Lithic Analysts. This was published in ArchaeologyOf North America, . He has also published many other books andarticles. Including: "Flintknappers' exchange" (the originaljournal), "The Emic Perspective" and "Flintknapping Digest". TheBasics Of Biface knapping In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition wasthe single most influential lithic book ever written.The Callahan biface book is Vol. 7, No. 1 of the journal ArchaeologyOf Eastern North America. The book introduced many new techniques forthe study of stone tools, for standard and experimental archaeology.The concepts, "the lithic grade scale, and biface staging, are widelyused in flintknapping circles to the point the most new knappersdidn't even know these concepts were fairly new and discovered byCallahan.As Crabtree before him Callahan was the only living flintknapper withthe confidence to have major surgery done with stone tools he craftedhimself. According to the news release on December 9th, 1998, ErrettCallahan had major surgery done to repair his right rotator cufftendon. The two hour landmark operation was done by Dr. Jay Hopkinsof Blue Ridge Orthopedics at Lynchburg General Hospital. Callahan'srotor cuff tendon had become completely torn off the top of hishumerus bone and had to be extensively reworked. Dr Hopkins said thatit was as bad a tear as he had ever witnessed. All incisions weremade with Callahan's obsidian scalpels. Dr. Hopkins, after performingthe operation, was impressed with the great reduction of bleeding inthe initial incisions and states: I used the obsidian blade for ashoulder operation and found them quite satisfactory. They performedvery much like a scalpel and the bleeding with the first cut throughthe skin was minimal. Healing appears to be very much normal, if notaccelerated.Errett Callahan was founder and president of the Society of PrimitiveTechnology for many years . The Society is an internationalorganization devoted to the preservation of a wide range of primitivetechnologies. The SPT preserves and promotes this knowledgeprincipally by means of a remarkable magazine, the Bulletin ofPrimitive Technology. Errett has now retired from his editor andchief and president but he will stay an active member. For moreinformation contact Society of Primitive Technology, P.O. Box 905,Rexburg, Id 83440. The Bulletin is now being edited and produced byPrimitive skills expert David Wescott. At this time Errett Callahanis in the midst of writing a major book on flintknapping - everythinghe knows...and he knows a lot..The book is going to focus a on DanishDaggers. The book is addressed to both the archaeologist andflintknapper a like. This book is a 20-year research project in which200 daggers were replicated. The research was funded by a grant fromthe King of Sweden and by Uppsala University. Callahan is cowrittingthe book with Jan Apel, a PhD student at Uppsala and fellowflintknapper. The new book will do for daggers what his biface bookdid for that field. Callahan is also working on a book onexperimental archaeology.Callahan still puts on his week long classes at Cliff Side onflintknapping, traditional archery, primitive pottery, lithicanalysis, and more. Bob Verrey, a former student and long timeflintknapper, archaeologist and supplier of knapping tools offers ascholarship to the school but it is very competitive. .Tags: | Edit TagsSaturday June 3, 2006 - 10:22am (PDT) Edit | Delete | Permanent Link | 0 CommentsEntry for June 03, 2006Entry for June 03, 2006 magnifyCrabtree, often referred to as "the Dean of Americanflintknapping". He was born June 8, 1912, in Heyburn, Idaho.According to Harvey L. Hughett of the University of Idaho: Don spenthis early youth in Salmon, Idaho where he first became interested inIndians and their tools. His mother would have him run errands forthe next-door neighbor and as a reward this woman would give Don anarrowhead which her husband had gathered. Young Don became fascinatedwith these tools and even at this early age began to wonder why andhow they were made. There were, at this time, many Indians in Salmon.Thanks to Harvey Hughett, at the University of Idaho, whom is nowcurator of the Don Crabtree Lithic Collection, we now know much moreabout Don Crabtree's childhood. I spoke to Mr. Hughett a few inOctober of 1999 (Val Waldorf had no problem either) he gave mepermission to quote his copyright article on Don Crabtree in ChipsVol. 11, No.3, 1999.: "Young Don became fascinated with these toolsand even at this early age began to wonder why and how they weremade. There were, at this time, many Indians in Salmon. Their customwas to sit flat on the sidewalk with their legs stretched in front ofthem. Don found it great fun to jump over their legs and to talk withthem, for which he was severely reprimanded by his mother.When Don was six, his Family moved to Twin Falls. This was desertcountry and Don spent most of his time hunting for artifacts, Indiancampsites and building his collection of Indian tools. The family'shome was just a stone's through from the Snake River Canyon and Donspent every possible moment hunting in the canyon, collecting fromcampsites and caves and adding to his collection. He also collectedobsidian flakes and began to try to reproduce the artifacts. Thismeant more trips to the canyon for knapping material. Soon, youngCrabtree had gathered a fairly large collection of artifacts and hisinterest in experimenting with different stones and methods ofmanufacture to achieve replication increased. He tried manyapproaches to holding and applying force but with little success andmuch failure. After interviewing many local Indians, he wasdisappointed that he was unable to learn anything of how thesefascinating artifacts were made. Flintknapping was essentially a lostart even at the time.Don was constantly in trouble with his father for being away fromhome so much, for the many cuts on his hands and the permanentbloodstains on his clothing. He received many reprimands for cominghome after dark. Even this did not cure him of his quest forknowledge of the Native Americans and their tools. At one point, hisfather became so disgusted with Don spending so much time knapping heoffered to pay him $100.00 if he would promise never to make anotherarrowhead. Don wanted a bicycle and a gun so badly that he consideredthis offer for some time. However, the love of Indian lore won and hetold his father that he could not give up his attempts to make toolsas the Indians had.In the late 1930's he was supervisor of the Vertebrate andInvertebrate Laboratory at the University of California at Berkley,this is also where Ishi's artifacts are curated. Also, Ted Orcuttstill lived not far to the North. Crabtree also worked in theAnthropology lab with the well known Anthropologist Alfred Krueber,whom was Ishi's friend and caretaker at the museum a few short yearsbefore. According to Dr. Errett Callahan (1979), following aflintworking demonstration at a meeting of the American Associationof Museums in Ohio, in 1941, Crabtree was employed at the Ohio StateLithic Laboratory with H. Holmes Ellis and Henry Shertrone. He wasalso advisor in Lithic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania andthe Smithsonian Institution's museum.During world war II, Crabtree was coordinating Engineer withBethlehem Steel in California. Between 1952 and 1962, he was CountySupervisor with the U.S.D.A in Twin Falls, Idaho. In 1962 and 1975,Crabtree was research associate in lithic technology at the IdahoState Museum in Pocatello."Not only was Crabtree a master flintknapper and an inspirationalflintknapper , he was also an expert on the theoretical aspect ofstone tool studies. Crabtree published papers on replicativeflintworking and other aspects of lithic studies in such publicationsas:"American Antiquity" (1939,1968), "Current Anthropology"(1969), "Science" (1968,1970), "Curator" (1970), "Tebiwa" (1964,1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973,1974), and "Lithic Technology" (1975).Crabtree's textbook, "An Introduction to Flintworking", was the mainpublication readily available from 1972 on. The Crabtree book,although 26 years old, is still a classic and is one of the mostreferenced books in lithic studies today. The book is easy to readand is full of excellent drawings and text. The book is availablethrough the Idaho Museum of Natural History, Idaho State University,Pocatello, Idaho. They also have republished Crabtree's articles,papers, and videos, his articles are better than ours decades later.Crabtree was featured in many archaeological films in his day, manywere shown around the world in class rooms from elementary school todoctoral classes. These films influence many up and comingflintknappers. The film "Blades and Pressure Flaking" (1969) won bestanthropology film at the 1970 American Film Festival.In 1972, the Idaho Museum of Natural History received a grant fromthe National Science Foundation for the production of several 16mmfilms featuring the legendary flintknapper. Just a few years agothese films were dubbed onto VHS video tape and made available to thepublic through Idaho Museum Publications. Though faded somewhat, thisfootage still maintains its detail and shows Don Crabtree at hisbest. In the Shadow of Man , Don is shown quarrying obsidian at GlassButtes in Oregon. The Flintworker discusses the basics offlintknapping, stone tools are made using simple percussiontechniques, and the Hertzian cone theory is introduced. AncientProjectile Points covers the making of bifacial points. The hunter'sEdge covers prismatic blade making. The Alchemy of Time concerns heattreating, and the manufacture of Clovis, Folsom and Cumberlandpoints. In 1978, Crabtree had open heart surgery with stone tools.The blades Crabtree made were so sharp that Crabtree's doctor agreedto use them on him after seeing how sharp they were. The firstsurgery one of Crabtrees's Ribs and a lung section were removed, an18 inch cut. Crabtree's stone tools were so sharp that there washardly a scar.Don Crabtree flintknapped all types of artifacts including flutedFolsom , parallel flaking, chevron flaking, notching, blade makingand even Ted Orcutt style large obsidian biface points. His largepoints were very similar to Orcutts , some were so thin that theylooked like dinner plates, his obsidian arrow points were verysimilar to those he helped to curate in Berkley made by Ishi.While working agate Crabtree noticed that his had a satiny textureand the Indian arrowheads out of the same material were like opal.After much experimentation he rediscovered heat treating of flintmaterials to improve knapping quality.In the later part of his life Crabtree traveled the world meeting andflintknapping with each nations leaders in lithic fields of endeavorand really opened the door for all of us. During this timeflintknapping saw its heyday, "knap-ins", lithic conferences andpublications. Sort of what what is happening now but with theacademics.Don Crabtree, Dean of American flintknappers, died on November 16,1980 from complications of heart disease, within six months ofFrancois Bordes . When Bordes and Crabtree passed away the 1970'sacademic flintknapping heyday passed away with Them. THE PALEOKNAPPERS : The Late Don Crabtree, of southern Idaho, is considered tobe the "Dean of American Flintknapping" not only for his finepublications, but also for the vast amount of important informationhe uncovered in a life devoted to the study of stone tools. Don wasmost probably the first flintknapper in thousands of years to flute aFolsom point, as early as 1941 Crabtree was employed at the LithicLaboratory at the University of Pennsylvania and the prestigiousSmithsonian Institution. He had experimented with fluting in the1930s but became quite famous for his studies into the LindenmierFolsom in 1966 . Don Crabtree passed away on November 16, 1980.Jeffery Flenniken and Gene Titmus, students of Crabtree carried onthe studies and are still considered to be among the bestflintknappers in the world.Tags: | Edit Tags

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Biography of Errett Callahan

by Kris West, 2007

"Errett Callahan (b. December 17, 1937) is an American archaeologist, flintknapper, and pioneer in the fields of experimental archaeology and lithic replication studies.
Early Life
Errett Callahan was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on December 17th, 1937. Callahan’s interest in the outdoors and Native American lifeways began quite early on. As a boy Callahan was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and it was as a Boy Scout that he was first exposed to the skills and techniques that the Native Americans used to survive in the outdoors. His father, who was also his Scoutmaster, played a large role in this, not only imparting his technical knowledge, but also instilling a sense of self reliance and independence that would shape Errett’s outlook his entire life.
Callahan attended Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Virginia from 1956 to 1960. While at Hampden-Sydney Callahan majored in French to better prepare himself for the missionary work in West Africa he hoped to do after graduation. Instead of being sent as a missionary to French West Africa as he expected, Callahan became a free-lance artist and went instead to East Africa in 1965 where English was readily spoken. He returned to the United States a year later in 1966, where he painted landscapes for three years and then taught art at a prep school for another two.
Graduate Studies
In 1969 Callahan enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, where he studied painting and modern art. He received his Master of Fine Arts in 1977. Callahan soon realized that there was very little money to be made in painting and decided to devote himself to his love of primitive technologies.
Callahan attended The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. between 1974 and 1981 where he completed his Master’s and doctoral work. Callahan’s work mainly focused on experimentation and replication of aspects of Native American archaeology. His Doctoral dissertation, Pamunkey Housebuilding: an Experimental Study of Late Woodland Technology in the Powatan Confederacy (1981) was the culmination of years of experimentation and research into the lifeways of the Powatan people.
Academic Career
While at Catholic University, Callahan served as an instructor of anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University until 1977. It was during this period at Virginia Commonwealth that Callahan pioneered the study of Living Archaeology (Watts 1997), teaching classes that combined academic study and research with primitive technological experimentation. With the help of his students, Callahan conducted seven living archaeology experiments over this time period that contributed greatly to both the understanding of native lifeways as well as the field of experimental archaeology itself. The first, the Old Rag project, was an Early Woodland encampment experiment conducted in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in 1972. At the Old Rag project Callahan and his students produced all of the stone and bone tools used in the construction and subsequent short-term habitation of the site and its dwelling. In 1973, Callahan and his students continued their experimental work at the Wagner Basalt Quarry project in northern Arizona, where they constructed and lived in a reproduction Desert Archaic encampment much in the same way they did at the Old Rag project. After the Wagner Basalt Quarry project, Callahan began an even more ambitious undertaking in 1974 with the multi-phased Pamunkey project. This project, located along the Pamunkey River in Tidewater region of Virginia, consisted of a series of extended (one month) living experiences in Eastern Middle and Late Woodland encampments of their own construction. As with the previous projects everything used was produced on site, however, the extended nature of this project allowed for a more advanced understanding of Late Woodland technology, which as was stated Callahan presented for his Doctoral dissertation, Pamunkey Housebuilding: an Experimental Study of Late Woodland Technology in the Powatan Confederacy.
Flint Knapping and Experimental Archaeology
Callahan first began flint knapping in 1956. He was completely self-taught for the first ten years, learning all he knew through trial and error and by examining the prehistoric artifacts he was trying to recreate (Callahan 1999). After his first decade of work, he studied with such Master-level flint knappers as Don Crabtree, Gene Titmus, Francois Bordes, J. B. Sollberger, and Jacques Pelegrin. Along with his continued experimentation and instructions from the masters, Callahan began reading everything he could get his hands on that pertained to flint knapping and primitive technologies. Over the first twenty years of his research Callahan worked his way through the lithic technologies of the European Paleolithic, Paleo-Indian, Archaic, and Woodland traditions of the Americas with another five years spent deciphering the technologies of the European Mesolithic, all the while voluntarily restricting himself to replications of prehistoric forms. Not content to stop there Callahan spent the next twenty years of his life working his way through the complex stone technologies of the European Neolithic. Only after that was Callahan ready to start his work on the Post Neolithic and Non-Traditional technologies where he was once again in uncharted territory, working by trial and error to produce forms that had never been seen before.
Ethics in Experimental Archaeology
Along with his work in the technological aspects of the field of experimental archaeology, Callahan has worked tirelessly to promote ethical research and documentation among fellow experimental archaeologists (Callahan 1999). Modern forgeries passed off as prehistoric artifacts have been detrimental to the field. Callahan has spoken out against such practices, encouraging flint knappers around the world to sign and date all of their production. Callahan has also championed authentic and scientific reconstructions, which he defined in his article What is Experimental Archaeology? (1999), as reconstructions which are successful, functional units undertaken with the correct period tools, materials, and procedures and which are scientifically monitored. In this statement, Callahan urges other flint knappers and experimental archaeologists against using modern replica tools such as copper billets to reproduce stone tool instead of the traditional bone and stone hammers used throughout prehistory. Callahan also says in the statement that without proper documentation of the techniques and processes there is no real experiment. With Callahan at the forefront of experimental archaeology, the field of replication studies gained acceptance throughout the academic community.
Northern Europe
In 1972 Errett received a call from Hans-Ole Hansen, founder of the Lejre Experimental Centre in Lejre, Denmark. Hansen had founded the center in the 1960s as an experiment in Denmark’s past. Until Hansen contacted Callahan, the center dealt mainly with Denmark’s Iron Age. With Callahan’s help, the center pushed back the time periods represented to the Neolithic and Mesolithic. Callahan first traveled to Denmark in 1979, where he engineered a conference that dealt specifically with the archaeology of the area. At the conference he set up a small knapping area where he engaged Danish archaeologists and raised awareness in experimental lithic technology. He returned to Denmark in 1981, this time spending seven months at the Lejre Experimental Centre conducting research into the techniques used to produce the stone tool kit of the Neolithic Danes, including the Neolithic Danish dagger, a highly advanced stone knife originally made to copy the forms of the Bronze daggers being produced in northern and central Europe at that time. Through his research, Callahan was the first experimental archaeologist able to reproduce the daggers using traditional techniques. He is now in the process of compiling his work done in Denmark. The research will be published in his forthcoming book.
Along with his work in Denmark, Callahan has also been part of ongoing research into the Swedish Mesolithic and Neolithic as well. His replication study of Middle Sweden’s Mesolithic and Neolithic quartz and quartzite technology and usage, published in An Evaluation of the Lithic Technology in Middle Sweden During the Mesolithic and Neolithic (1987), shed new light on several long standing questions, including population migration, microblade technology, and knapping efficiency vs. waste, faced by Swedish archaeologists who studied the lithic technologies of the area. As a result of his research in Sweden he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate and faculty position in the archaeology department at Uppsala University in Uppsala, Sweden (Watts 1997).
Piltdown Productions
Upon his return from Northern Europe in 1981 Callahan founded Piltdown Productions. The company was founded as a means to sell his many publications, supplies, and instructional materials, as well as the stone tools and knives he produced. He first used the name, which he took from the infamous Piltdown Man hoax of the early 1900s in which British collector Charles Dawson attempted to pass off the jawbone of an orangutan and fragments of a human skull as a undiscovered human ancestor found in a gravel quarry in Piltdown, England. Callahan first used the Piltdown name in 1974 in a comic strip he drew for Experimental Archaeology Papers, or A.P.E. In the comic strip he presented a humorous look at the life of a caveman. Callahan wrote two more installments of the comic for the A.P.E. and then for the Newsletter of Experimental Archaeology. During this period, he was also producing documentary and instructional films dealing with various aspects of primitive technology as well as beginner flint knapping kits and tool reproductions that he sold to universities, colleges, and hobbyists around the country. Callahan has produced several catalog editions that contain not only his stone tool and instructional materials but a good deal of his philosophy and ethical stances towards the field of flint knapping.
Two of the more unusual items to be found in Callahan’s Piltdown Productions inventory are his nontraditional obsidian knives and his obsidian scalpels. The nontraditional obsidian knives, which Callahan began producing in quantities in1984, are made with the same traditional tools as are his prehistoric replications; the nontraditional knives, however, are made into a large variety of shapes and sizes that are not based on any known prehistoric typology (Callahan 1999). Callahan originally began his work on nontraditional forms out of a desire to break out of the restrictions of traditional stone knife reproductions. His knives have won many awards and have often been featured in Blade magazine.
While his nontraditional knives were a way for Callahan to step outside the restrictions of the prehistoric typologies, his obsidian scalpels were a way for him to provide a service to mankind. The technology to make scalpel blades out of smoky obsidian, a volcanic glass that allows for the sharpest blade production, was first developed by the late Don Crabtree in the late 1970s. The blades, which have edges only a few molecules thick, are 100 to 500 times sharper than the traditional surgical steel scalpels (The University Record 1997). These ultra-sharp edges produce less scaring and tissue damage and speed the healing process. Though they are not popular in the medical field, Callahan’s obsidian scalpels have been used with great success in hundreds of operations, many performed by doctors and scientists at the University of Michigan Health System who have done extensive research using scalpels produced by Callahan.
Society of Primitive Technology
Throughout the 1980s the fields of experimental archaeology and lithic replication studies endured some harsh criticisms in the United States from various members of the academic community (Callahan 1999). These criticisms stemmed mainly from unscrupulous flint knappers attempting to pass their modern reproductions off as authentic prehistoric stone tools. As a result of this many practitioners went into a kind of academic hiding, choosing not to publish the results of their ongoing research. While “in hiding” the field continued to grow with every new technique that was rediscovered and, as Callahan puts it in his article What is Experimental Archaeology? (1999), “the field was bursting at the seams for expression”. In an effort to bring together members of the community, Callahan invited ten of the leading primitive technology teachers and practitioners to the Schiele Museum of Natural History’s Center for Southeastern Native American Studies in Gastonia, North Carolina in November of 1989 (Wescott 1999). It was at this gathering that The Society of Primitive Technology was founded to promote the practice and teaching of aboriginal skills, foster communication between teachers and practitioners, and to bring about a set of standards for the authenticity, quality and ethics of the research that was being carried out. The society, of which Callahan was president from its inception until he retired his post in 1996 (Watts 1997), publishes the biannual journal Bulletin of Primitive Technology which includes articles on a variety of experimental archaeological topics including but not limited to stone and bone tools, aboriginal structures, nutrition, clothing, and fire production."

VOL 1. “Projectile Point fracture experiments”

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1830	December 10th	Born
1840	September	Enters Amherst Academy
1847	September	Enters Mt. Holyoke Seminary
1850	December 10th	Meets Susan
1852	February 20th	published- poem
1856	July 1st	Austin marries Susan Gilbert
1862	April 15th	Higginson letter
1864-1865	February	Boston ophthalmologist
1866	January 27th	Carlo died
1874	June 16th	Father died
1882	November 14th	Mother died
1883	October 5th	Gilbert died
1884	April	Bright’s Disease
1886	May, 15th	Emily Death date
1890	November 12th	Poems published

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Piltdown productions

Archaeology brought to life with functional replicas of Museum artifacts by Michael R. Frank

Biography of Errett Callahan

by Kris West, 2007